- empire
- c.1300, from O.Fr. empire "imperial rule," from L. imperium "rule, command," from imperare "to command," from im- "in" + parare "to order, prepare" (see pare). The Empire, meaning "the British Empire," first recorded 1772 (it officially devolved into "The Commonwealth" in 1931). Empire style (esp. in ref. to a style of dresses with high waistlines) is 1869, from the Second Empire "rule of Napoleon III of France" (1852-70). New York has been called the Empire State since 1834.