Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • Kaiser of Germany and king of Prussia (1888–1918). Grandson of Queen Victoria, he supported the Afrikaners in South Africa and Austria's demands on Serbia (1914). He was forced to abdicate at the end of World War I.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun grandson of Queen Victoria and Kaiser of Germany from 1888 to 1918; he was vilified as causing World War I (1859-1941)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • When he died on June 15, 1888, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Wilhelm II, known to posterity as "the Kaiser."

    The Other Kaiser Martin Rubin 2011

  • In Wilhelm II, as Mr. Müller notes drawing on Robert Louis Stevenson's famous tale, Germany appeared to end up with "the Mr. Hyde of the twentieth century," while Frederick could have been "a kindly and civilised Dr. Jekyll."

    The Other Kaiser Martin Rubin 2011

  • He wrote several letters to surviving members of the Prussian royal family, many of whom wrote back, including the former Kaiser, Wilhelm II, his wife and five sons.

    Al Eisele: An American's Unique Link to German History Al Eisele 2011

  • But the new, headstrong young kaiser, Wilhelm II, foolishly dismissed the domineering Bismarck and soon plunged his nation into confrontation with Imperial Britain over naval power, colonies, and trade.

    Eric Margolis: The Road to War in Asia Eric Margolis 2011

  • In Imperial Prussia, it was the kaisers—Wilhelm II with his curled mustache, Wilhelm I with his giant sideburns—who helped popularize facial hair.

    Germans Face Off in Hairy Debate Over Whisker Do's and Don'ts Anton Troianovski 2011

  • He wrote several letters to surviving members of the Prussian royal family, many of whom wrote back, including the former Kaiser, Wilhelm II, his wife and five sons.

    Al Eisele: An American's Unique Link to German History Al Eisele 2011

  • There was a rough justice in Bismarck's fall; he was dismissed at the age of 75 by Wilhelm II, a monarch who was, in the words of Bismarck's son, "cold as a block of ice, convinced that people only exist to be used."

    The Shrewdest of the Shrewd Geoffrey Wawro 2011

  • And I have begun Miranda Carter's triple biography of George V, Wilhelm II and Nicholas II, which asks us to judge which of these mediocre cousins who took Europe into the First World War was most culpable.

    War, war, war and Mark Morris 2009

  • And I have begun Miranda Carter's triple biography of George V, Wilhelm II and Nicholas II, which asks us to judge which of these mediocre cousins who took Europe into the First World War was most culpable.

    Peter Stothard - Times Online - WBLG 2009

  • Between the murder of Franz Ferdinand & his consort Sophie by Bosnian dupes of the Serbs on 28 June & the final diplomatic gloved slaps (& the immediate invasion by Germany of Belgium without a declaration of war) there were Byzantine machinations & all manner of monarchical posturing (largely by Wilhelm II).

    Archive 2009-08-02 Bas Bleu 2009

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