Pharaoh is a title that originally referred to the royal palace in ancient Egypt and later came to denote the king who ruled Egypt. The term has two main layers of meaning:

• Etymology and original sense: The word derives from an ancient Egyptian phrase meaning “great house.” It began as a reference to the royal residence rather than the person himself. Over time, it came to be used metonymically for the king, especially during the New Kingdom period.
• Political and religious role: The pharaoh was regarded as the mediator between gods and humans, a divine or semi-divine ruler responsible for maintaining cosmic order (maat), overseeing religious rituals, and commanding military and civil authority. In life the pharaoh bore multiple ceremonial names and titles, and in death was often identified with the god Osiris, with the sacred powers passed to the successor.

Key points you might find helpful:

• The title is not a formal personal name but a designation used for rulers in official contexts; a king’s formal titulary consisted of five names, including Horus, Two Ladies, Golden Horus, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Son of Re.
• In modern usage, “pharaoh” is used to refer to any ancient Egyptian king, though it was never the king’s official title in ancient times; it became a generic label in later historical and literary contexts, including translations of biblical texts.

If you’d like, I can provide more on how the title evolved across different dynasties, or compare “pharaoh” to other royal titles from neighboring cultures.