# Kaiser

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkaɪzə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #14,151

## Definitions
1. An emperor of a German-speaking country, particularly the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the Austrian Empire/Austria-Hungary (1806–1918), or the German Empire (1871–1918) — often specifically Wilhelm II.
2. Any emperor or autocrat, or one who attempts to be one.
3. A Kaiser roll: a round, pinwheel-shaped roll.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **Kasey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaiser-vs-kasey)
- **kisser** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaiser-vs-kisser)
- **Kaine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/kaine-vs-kaiser)

## Common misspellings (8)
`akiser`, `kaiesr`, `kaiserr`, `kaisre`, `kaisser`, `kasier`, `kiaser`, `kkaiser`

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