empress

Etymology 1

From Middle English emperice, emperesse, from Anglo-Norman and Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, equivalent to emperor + -ess. Doublet of imperatrix. Compare modern French impératrice.

noun

1. The female monarch (ruler) of an empire.
2. The wife or widow of an emperor or equated ruler.
   Empress, imperial regent, and even emperor herself (r. 797–802), Irene was an important and powerful figure at the Byzantine court in the late eighth and early ninth century. 2008, Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation, page 211
3. (tarot) The third trump or major arcana card of most tarot decks.
4. (rare) A female chimpanzee.
5. A deciduous tree, Paulownia tomentosa

Etymology 2

From Middle English empresse, from Anglo-Norman enpresser (“to press, to imprint”), from Old French empresser. Attested from the 15th or late 14th century.

verb

1. Rare form of impress.