Czar Is Caesar, Two Thousand Years Later
A czar was a Russian emperor. The title is the name Caesar, passed through Greek and Slavic.
A czar was an emperor of Russia. The word is the name *Caesar*: a family name became a Roman imperial title, passed into Greek as *kaisar*, then into Old Church Slavonic, and emerged as *tsar*. German *Kaiser* is the same name by a different road, so two of Europe's great imperial titles are one Roman surname. English now uses *czar* loosely for an official with sweeping authority, as in a drugs czar.
- A Russian emperor. *The last czar.*
- A powerful official. *A drugs czar.*
- Tsar — the closer spelling. *Tsar.*
- Kaiser — the German form. *Kaiser.*
- Latin — *Caesar*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | czar | A czar. |
| Plural | czars | Czars. |
| Variant | tsar | A tsar. |
| Feminine | czarina | A czarina. |
| German | Kaiser | Kaiser. |
- The czar ruled until 1917.History.
- A new drugs czar was appointed.Modern.
- Kaiser is the same name.Comparison.
One name, many titles
- Caesar — a Roman family name
- Kaisar — the Greek form used in the eastern empire
- Tsar — the Slavic form, adopted by Russian rulers
- Kaiser — the German form
- Kayser-i Rum — the Ottoman title claiming the same inheritance
Russian *tsar*, from Old Church Slavonic, from Greek *kaisar*, from Latin *Caesar*.
Is czar the same word as Caesar?
Yes. The Roman family name became an imperial title and travelled through Greek into Slavic as tsar.
Should it be czar or tsar?
Both are used. Tsar is closer to the Russian, while czar is the older English spelling and standard in phrases like drugs czar.