Tsar

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /tsɑː/, /sɑː/, /zɑː/
• US IPA: /zɑɹ/, /tsɑɹ/, /sɑɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
• Homophones: Saar

Alternative forms

• czar, tzar, csar

Origin

From Russian царь, from Old East Slavic цьсарь, from Old Church Slavonic цѣсарь, from Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂 (kaisar, "emperor"), believed to come from Latin Caesar.

Full definition of tsar

Noun

1. (historical) An emperor of Russia (before 1917) and of some South Slavic kingdoms.
2. (figuratively) A person with great power; an autocrat.
3. (informal, politics, US) An appointed official tasked to regulate or oversee a specific area.

Usage notes

(emperor of Russia) Officially, emperors after 1721 were styled imperator (император) rather than tsar (царь); however, the latter is commonly applied to them as well.

Derived terms

Related terms

Usage notes

Although commonly believed to mean specifically a Russian emperor, this is not necessarily the case.

The spelling czar is the most common one in the US, especially in the figurative and informal senses. Scholarly literature prefers tsar.

Anagrams

• arts
• rats
• star
• tars