Webster
✕

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Empire

Em′pire (ĕm′pīr), n. [F., fr. L. imperium a command, sovereignty, dominion, empire, fr. imperare. See Emperor; cf. Imperial.] 1. Supreme power; sovereignty; sway; dominion. "The empire of the sea." Shak.

Over hell extend His empire, and with iron scepter rule. Milton.

2. The dominion of an emperor; the territory or countries under the jurisdiction and dominion of an emperor (rarely of a king), usually of greater extent than a kingdom, always comprising a variety in the nationality of, or the forms of administration in, constituent and subordinate portions; as, the Austrian empire.

Empire carries with it the idea of a vast and complicated government. C. J. Smith.

3. Any dominion; supreme control; governing influence; rule; sway; as, the empire of mind or of reason. "Under the empire of facts." M. Arnold.

Another force which, in the Middle Ages, shared with chivalry the empire over the minds of men. A. W. Ward.

Celestial empire. See under Celestial. — Empire City, a common designation of the city of New York. — Empire State, a common designation of the State of New York.

Syn. — Sway; dominion; rule; control; reign; sovereignty; government; kingdom; realm; state.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.