noun, plural mi·ka·dos.
- (sometimes initial capital letter) a title of the emperor of Japan.
- (initial capital letter, italics) an operetta (1885) by Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan.
- (initial capital letter) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.
noun plural -dos
- (often capital) archaic the Japanese emperorCompare tenno
n.1727, former title of the emperor of Japan, from mi “honorable” + kado “gate, portal.” Similar to Sublime Porte, old title of the Ottoman emperor/government, and Pharaoh, which literally means “great house.”