# empress

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛmpɹəs/ · frequency rank #16,013

## Definitions
1. The female monarch (ruler) of an empire.
2. The wife or widow of an emperor or equated ruler.
3. The third trump or major arcana card of most tarot decks.
4. A female chimpanzee.
5. A deciduous tree, Paulownia tomentosa
6. A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the rook and the knight.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **express** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/empress-vs-express)
- **espresso** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/empress-vs-espresso)
- **egress** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/egress-vs-empress)

## Common misspellings (9)
`emmpress`, `emperss`, `emppress`, `empres`, `emprress`, `emprses`, `emrpess`, `epmress`, `mepress`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/empress