Word
kaiser
Phoneticskaiser
US/ˈkaɪzɝ/
UK/kˈaɪzɐ/
Definitions
01historical emperor
n. the title used for the emperors of Germany or Austria until the early 20th century.
n. the title of the sovereign of the German Empire or the Austrian Empire, derived from the Latin 'Caesar'.
“The last Kaiser of Germany left the country after the first World War.”
“Historians often debate the role of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the diplomatic failures that preceded the outbreak of the Great War.”
02bread roll
n. a round, crusty bread roll with a pattern on top that looks like a star.
n. a round, crusty yeast roll with a characteristic five-segment pinwheel pattern on the top surface.
“I bought a fresh kaiser roll from the bakery to make a sandwich.”
“The deli served the roast beef on a toasted kaiser roll, which held the juices better than standard sliced bread.”
American English
Usage
Often used in the compound 'kaiser roll'.
03autocrat
n. a person who has total power and acts like a king or emperor.
n. an absolute ruler or autocrat; used figuratively to describe someone who exercises total authority.
“The office manager acted like a kaiser, making every small decision himself.”
“The CEO was viewed as a corporate kaiser who brooked no dissent from his board of directors.”
Literary · Formal
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.