an Emperor or Empress (regnant) of Japan · an emperor, ruler, or other monarch with a heavenly mandate · a person having a strength or profession in a particular field of study or expertise
köken: From Middle Chinese 天皇 (MC then hwang) with the original sense of “heavenly sovereign”. The 呉(ご)音(おん) (goon, literally “Wu sound”) pronunciation, so likely the initial borrowing from Middle Chinese. The ō reading for 皇 changes to nō as an instance of renjō (連(れん)声(じょう)).