English word empress comes from Middle English emperesse

Detailed word origin of empress

Dictionary entry	Language	Definition
emperesse	Middle English (enm)
empress	English (eng)	(rare) A female chimpanzee.. (tarot) The third trump or major arcana card of most tarot decks.. A deciduous tree, Paulownia tomentosa. The female monarch (ruler) of an empire.. The wife or widow of an emperor or equated ruler (e.g. Persian shah).