Empire

Latin imperium — command, supreme power, dominion. From imperare — to command. The Roman empire gave the word its weight. Entered English through Old French empire in the 13th century.

Applied historically to Rome, Britain, the Mongols, the Ottomans, and others. In contemporary politics, 'empire' is both a descriptive term for US global power and a polemical one — American foreign policy debates turn partly on whether the word applies and what follows if it does. The academic field of empire studies distinguishes formal empire (direct rule) from informal empire (economic and political dominance without administration).