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Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

3 5.2
A ruler of the ancient Roman Empire who has almost complete power
  • noun
  • /ˈroʊmən ˈɛmpərər/
translation icon : Emperador Romano
  • The Roman emperor had absolute power over the vast territories of the ancient empire.
  • the Holy Roman Emperor
  • Roman Emperor built

But who do you think are is the greatest Roman emperor?

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Examples

  • In the final years of his rule, Roman emperor Hadrian sent troops to the outer borders of England.

  • One likely possibility here is the Roman Emperor Caesar Nero.

    Blog text (30)
  • This man has even forbidden the people from paying taxes to the Roman Emperor!

  • I govern this land on behalf of the Roman emperor.

  • There is a truly wonderful bronze head of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus in the British Museum collection.

  • Strabo, living in the age of the first Roman emperor, had a world to describe that was different from the world of his predecessors.

    Academic text (2004)
  • In 313, the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great issued his Edict of Toleration, providing legal protection for Christians from persecution.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Roman Emperor Trajan annexed the Nabataean Kingdom in 106 CE, making it part of the Roman Province of Arabia.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Tripoli itself is the site of ancient Oea, now disappeared, save for the second-century A.D. arch of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in the medina, or old quarter.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Philostorgius recounts that the Roman emperor enthusiastically sent Ulfila on a mission to the Goths following his consecration by Eusebius of Nicomedia.

    Academic text (2018)

Synonyms

emperor
vsRoman Emperor
524 3.5

A man who rules an empire made of many countries

is specific to the ancient western empire rather than any empire
ruler
vsRoman Emperor
153 2.1

A person who has power over a country or its people

applies only to the sovereign of the ancient western empire
imperator
vsRoman Emperor
  • Archaic
3 9.9

An old title given to a Roman general after victory

is the regular office rather than an occasional military honorific
Emperor of Rome
vsRoman Emperor
1 6.9

A person who ruled the Roman Empire from Augustus to the end of the Western Empire

has identical meaning but uses an alternative phrasing

Surface Forms

Roman Emperor singular

Morphology

Roman + emperor

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'Roman' (pertaining to Rome) modifying 'emperor' (a sovereign ruler), so a learner who knows both constituents will understand it refers to the ruler of the Roman Empire. This adjective+noun construction is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern and therefore readily comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

The noun Roman Emperor comes from the real rulers of ancient Rome. Imagine a man in a purple robe and a crown of leaves on a throne giving orders to soldiers; the word Roman means 'from Rome' and Emperor means 'the top ruler', so together they mean 'the top ruler of the ancient Roman Empire'.