kaiser

¹

[ kahy-zer ]

noun

1. a German emperor.
2. an Austrian emperor.
3. History/Historical. a ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
4. a person who exercises or tries to exercise absolute authority; autocrat.

Kaiser

²

[ kahy-zer ]

noun

1. Henry J(ohn), 1882–1967, U.S. industrialist.

Kaiser

¹

/ ˈkaizər /

noun

1. KaiserGeorg18781945MGermanTHEATRE: dramatist Georg (ˈɡeːɔrk). 1878–1945, German expressionist dramatist

Kaiser

²

/ ˈkaɪzə /

noun

1. any German emperor, esp Wilhelm II (ruled 1888–1918)
2. obsolete.
   any Austro-Hungarian emperor

Kaiser

1. The German word for “emperor.” The emperors of Austria and Germany were called Kaisers. ( See Wilhelm II .)

Derived Forms

• ˈkaiserdom, noun

Other Words From

• kaiser·dom noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of kaiser¹

1150–1200; < German ≪ Latin Caesar emperor, special use of proper name ( Caesar ); replacing Middle English keisere, (north) caisere < Old Norse keisari ≪ Latin as above; compare Old English cāsere

Word History and Origins

Origin of kaiser¹

C16: from German, ultimately from Latin Caesar emperor, from the cognomen of Gaius Julius Caesar

Example Sentences

He went on: “I mean, I knew he didn’t know who Bismarck was, or about the Franco-Prussian War. I said, ‘Do you mean the kaiser’s generals?

From Salon

Before he received the czar’s telegram, the kaiser had sent the czar a telegram of his own, signed “Your very sincere and devoted friend and cousin, Willy.”

From Literature

I finally found the BEC of my NYC dreams — the one served at Volunteer Park Cafe, where they make their own kaiser rolls to compensate for our sad regional deficit in that bread category.

From Seattle Times

He joined the Wild West Show, and while they were entertaining kaisers and queens, he brought death and suffering wherever they went.

From Literature

Thereafter, Germany became the kaiser writ large, the nation’s aspirations an outgrowth of the kaiser’s insecurities.

From Washington Post