kaiser
UK /ˈkaɪzə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈkaɪzɚ/ noun, proper noun
Forms kaisers keasar kesar
- noun An emperor of a German-speaking country, particularly the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the Austrian Empire/Austria-Hungary (1806–1918), or the German Empire (1871–1918) — often specifically Wilhelm II.
- noun (by extension) Any emperor or autocrat, or one who attempts to be one.
- noun A Kaiser roll: a round, pinwheel-shaped roll.
- proper noun A surname.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English kayser, from Old High German keisar (“emperor”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaisar, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar. The native Old English descendant of that Proto-Germanic word was cāser (“emperor”), but the shape of Middle English kayser (“emperor”) (versus the expected *caser, *coser) suggests it was borrowed from another Germanic language rather than inherited, and the modern English spelling and sense seem to be modified after modern German rather than a direct continuation of Middle English. Compare tsar, which was borrowed from Slavic.
Doublet of Caesar and tsar.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The ancient title of emperors of Germany assumed by King William of Prussia when crowned sovereign of the new German empire in 1871.
Etymology [Gr., fr. L. Caesar. Cf. Kesar, and Czar.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “kaiser”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details