Empire?
 

The mention of it got me thinking, what exactly makes an Empire?

As usual I start with the dictionary:

freedictionary:

Em·pire 1 (m-pîr, mpr)
adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a neoclassic style, as in clothing or the decorative arts, prevalent in France during the first part of the 19th century.

[After the First Empire of France (1804-1815).]

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Em·pire 2 (mpr)
n.
A variety of apple having medium fruit with waxy, dark red skin and white flesh.

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[After the Empire State, nickname for the state of New York, where it was developed.]



:)

Seriously:

em·pire (mpr)
n.
1.
a. A political unit having an extensive territory or comprising a number of territories or nations and ruled by a single supreme authority.
b. The territory included in such a unit.
2. An extensive enterprise under a unified authority: a publishing empire.
3. Imperial or imperialistic sovereignty, domination, or control: "There is a growing sense that the course of empire is shifting toward the . . . Asians" (James Traub).

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin imperium, from imperre, to command; see emperor.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


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empire [ˈɛmpaɪə]
n
1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) an aggregate of peoples and territories, often of great extent, under the rule of a single person, oligarchy, or sovereign state
2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) any monarchy that for reasons of history, prestige, etc., has an emperor rather than a king as head of state
3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the period during which a particular empire exists
4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) supreme power; sovereignty Related adj imperial
5. (Business / Commerce) a large industrial organization with many ramifications, esp a multinational corporation
[from Old French, from Latin imperium rule, from imperāre to command, from parāre to prepare]


ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun 1. empire - the domain ruled by an emperor or empress; the region over which imperial dominion is exercised
imperium
demesne, domain, land - territory over which rule or control is exercised; "his domain extended into Europe"; "he made it the law of the land"
2. empire - a group of countries under a single authority; "the British created a great empire"
authorities, government, regime - the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit; "the government reduced taxes"; "the matter was referred to higher authorities"
3. empire - a monarchy with an emperor as head of state
monarchy - an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority
Mogul empire - an empire established by the Mogul conquerors of India that reigned from 1526 to 1857
Second Empire - the imperial government of Napoleon III in France from 1852-1870
4. empire - a group of diverse companies under common ownership and run as a single organization
conglomerate
corp, corporation - a business firm whose articles of incorporation have been approved in some state
publishing conglomerate, publishing empire - a conglomerate of publishing companies

I always check Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: em·pire
Pronunciation: \ˈem-ˌpī(-ə)r\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French empire, empirie, from Latin imperium absolute authority, empire, from imperare to command — more at emperor
Date: 14th century
1 a (1) : a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority; especially : one having an emperor as chief of state (2) : the territory of such a political unit b : something resembling a political empire; especially : an extensive territory or enterprise under single domination or control
2 : imperial sovereignty, rule, or dominion
3 capitalized [Empire State, nickname for New York] : a juicy apple with dark red skin that is a cross between a McIntosh apple and a Red Delicious apple

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

So we're not an Empire in any strict sense. However I do believe we are, at least to some degree, perhaps in a new way.

So we need a new definition. Anyone? I'm not going to argue (:) ), just curious.

Pete

After absorbing the definition, I guess it begs the question - Is the USA an empire? I'd offer when you consider Manifest Destiny in the 19th century, the Mexican War, the Indian Wars, the Spanish American wars, our terroritories/states scattered all over (Hawaii, Alaska, Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.) and our military presence (and economic influence) all over the world, it would be hard to argue that we are not an empire - maybe the only one left. It's just that "empire" has a negative connotation that we're uncomfortable ascribing to ourselves.

We certainly like to think of ourselves as 'nice', for sure!

I didn't consider that our actual possesions qualify us as fitting the definition exactly. Too Ameri-centric, yikes.

Pete

If you want to disabuse yourself of the notion of our inherent niceness, do a little reading about the U.S. and its behavior in the Philippines from ~1899 - 1902. The atrocities we committed there were of the same ilk as those committed by Japan in China in WWII. Truly nasty, brutal, genocidal stuff.

Oh I have no illusions.

Pete

Nice guys finish last.

Chas

Allot of time on your hands today I see. :p

So, what you're saying is that America is a dark red skinned, waxy fruit with white fleshy parts?

Dave

A half breed.

:eek:

Pete

Lol. The wonders of cut and paste! :)

Pete