kaiser
noun
- dictator
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈkaɪzə(ɹ)/ / /ˈkaɪzɚ/
name
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English kayser, from Old High German keisar (“emperor”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaisar, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz. 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.
- A surname.
noun
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English kayser, from Old High German keisar (“emperor”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaisar, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz. 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.
- 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.
- Any emperor or autocrat, or one who attempts to be one.
“And Black Ivo is a veritable Kaiser.”
“[…] that President Poincare, the first servant of France, is still Louis XIV, the former War-Lord, the Kaiser of France […]”
- A Kaiser roll: a round, pinwheel-shaped roll.