When there'a a general or an emperor in front of them, soldiers do a gesture to salute that person. Is there a word for such gesture? I am wondering if we just use the word salute, which is a weird word to use, because it can be confused with many other things and not just the salute gesture soldiers do, which depend for which country you serve.
Learn English – What’s the word for the soldier salute
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My understanding is that the OP is not after the origins of the term "salute" but is asking whether there is a higher level gesture of paying respect, compared to the standard salute. In many militaries, there is. It usually occurs only in formal parade ground situations and is called "presenting arms":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_arms_(command)
For example, in British-styled militaries, if a group of soldiers on the march encounters a superior officer, the leader of that group will give a standard salute (which varies depending on whether they are holding a weapon or not). The remaining personnel will not salute per se, but will move their heads to acknowledge the passing officer (e.g. "Eyes Right" or "Eyes Left").
But when called to present arms, (generally while standing still on a parade ground), all personnel will move their weapons to acknowledge the recipient of respect. e.g. soldiers and NCOs will present arms en masse by thrusting their rifles forward while held vertically, while officers will raise and then lower their swords. The gesture of presenting arms with a rifle is different than the regular salute made when holding a rifle.
There is a higher level of salute yet. In British-styled armies, it is termed the royal salute, but it is offered as a gesture of respect to any head of state (such as presidents). This involves firing 21 rounds of artillery. Lower accolades (e.g. 19 guns) might be afforded to heads of government (e.g. prime ministers) and so on:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21-gun_salute