Empire?

[piece-itpete]

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