empress

noun

em·​press ˈem-prəs 

1

: the wife or widow of an emperor

2

: a woman who is the sovereign or supreme monarch of an empire

Examples of empress in a Sentence

the Emperor and Empress of Japan

Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia.

Recent Examples on the Web

Another drawing depicts a chicken egg sailing from darkness toward light with a small posse of ball bearings and the serene dignity of an empress. —Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023

This reference to the year the Russian empress Catherine the Great, with Prussia and Austria, annexed a third of Poland causes Dmitry to burst out in rage. —Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023

These include goblets engraved with double-headed eagles or the insignia and portraits of Russian empresses. —Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 26 June 2023

Newspapers called her the queen, or sometimes the empress, of crafting. —Neil Genzlinger, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2023

Sofia Richie Grainge—empress of the quiet luxury movement—is back with another effortless, elevated look for our summer mood boards. —Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Aug. 2023

This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome A man’s world? —Magazine, 2 Mar. 2023

This was not always the case in Japan — there have been eight empresses regnant throughout history — but the Imperial Household Law introduced in 1947 restricts the throne to the male line of succession and requires women who marry outside of the family to leave. —Emily Krauser, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023

The emperor and empress of Japan will be asked to represent the nation at the queen's funeral, the country's main government spokesperson said Wednesday. —Patrick Smith, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English emperice, emperes (with assimilation of the suffix to -esse -ess), borrowed from Anglo-French emperice, empereis, going back to Late Latin imperātrīc-, imperātrīx (Latin, "female general [used ironically]"), from Latin imperāre "to give orders, exercise authority, hold political power" + -trīc-, -trīx, feminine agent suffix — more at emperor

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

empress

noun

em·​press ˈem-prəs 

1

: the wife or widow of an emperor

2

: a woman who is the ruler of an empire