Definition
In contemporary China, a child with no siblings who is regarded as overly protected and spoiled. (Seen as belonging to a generation which is a product of China's "one-child" policy.)
Origins
A calque of Chinese 小皇帝 (xiǎohuángdì).
In Context
- "Chinese psychologists recently have also written extensively about the emergence of so-called little emperors—arrogant, spoiled children who grow up without siblings."
- "The Chinese have a special name for those tots: xiao huangdi, or "little emperors.""