English
empire
Empire comes from Old French empire, from Latin imperium ‘command, dominion’, from imperō ‘to command’, from parō ‘to prepare’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perh₃-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-‘to grant’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₃-o-‘providing’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparō‘prepare’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimperō‘command’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimperium‘the empire’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400empire
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘emperorship’
- Englishearliest quotation 1781same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-‘to grant’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₃-o-‘providing’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparō‘prepare’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimperō‘command’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimperium‘the empire’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400empire
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘emperorship’
- Englishearliest quotation 1781same form
Earliest quotation: 1781, Horace Walpole, The Mysterious Mother: “Each master whim maintains its hour of empire, And…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to grant’
part, expert, experiment, para, parcel, parental, parity, 43 more
through Latin parō ‘prepare, arrange’
several, separate, preparation, separation, repair, apparatus, parachute, apparel, preparatory, disparate, severance, inseparable, separator, rampart, separable, pare, reparation, 15 more
through Latin imperō ‘command, order’
emperor, empress, imperator, 7 more
through Latin imperium ‘the empire, state, imperial government, realm,…’
Today it means
noun A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- / empire