Definition: Tsar
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian царь (carʹ), from Old East Slavic цьсарь (cĭsarĭ), from Proto-Slavic *cěsařь, from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar. Alternative spellings: czar, tzar, csar
Noun
tsar (plural tsars)
- (historical) An emperor of Russia (1547 to 1917) and of some South Slavic states.
- (figurative) A person with great power; an autocrat
Usage notes
- (emperor of Russia): Officially, emperors after 1721 were styled imperator (импера́тор (imperátor)) rather than tsar (царь (carʹ)), but the latter term is still commonly applied to them.
- The term sometimes refers to other emperors, besides those of Russia, e.g. the monarch of Bulgaria (1908-1946).
- The spelling czar is predominant in figurative and informal senses. Scholarly literature prefers tsar.
Derived terms
- tsarina
- tsarism
- tsarist
Credits
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