Im*pe"ri*al (?), a. [OE. emperial, OF. emperial, F. impérial, fr. L. imperialis, fr. imperium command, sovereignty, empire. See Empire.]
1. Of or pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as, an imperial government; imperial authority or edict. The last
That wore the imperial diadem of Rome.
Shak. 2. Belonging to, or suitable to, supreme authority, or one who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme. "The imperial democracy of Athens." Mitford. Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice.
Shak. To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free,
These are imperial arts, and worthy thee.
Dryden. He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line of battle.
E. Everett. 3. Of superior or unusual size or excellence; as, imperial paper; imperial tea, etc. Imperial bushel, gallon, etc. See Bushel, Gallon, etc. --
Imperial chamber, the, the sovereign court of the old German empire. --
Imperial city, under the first German empire, a city having no head but the emperor. --
Imperial diet, an assembly of all the states of the German empire. --
Imperial drill. (Manuf.) See under 8th Drill. --
Imperial eagle. (Zoöl.) See Eagle. --
Imperial green. See Paris green, under Green. --
Imperial guard, the royal guard instituted by Napoleon I. - - Imperial weights and measures, the standards legalized by the British Parliament. © Webster 1913
Im*pe"ri*al, n. [F. impériale: cf. Sp. imperial.]
1. The tuft of hair on a man's lower lip and chin; -- so called from the style of beard of Napoleon III. 2. An outside seat on a diligence. T. Hughes. 3. A luggage case on the top of a coach. Simmonds. 4. Anything of unusual size or excellence, as a large decanter, a kind of large photograph, a large sheet of drawing, printing, or writing paper, etc. 5. A gold coin of Russia worth ten rubles, or about eight dollars. McElrath. 6. A kind of fine cloth brought into England from Greece. or other Eastern countries, in the Middle Ages. © Webster 1913
Im*pe"ri*al, n. A game at cards differing from piquet in some minor details, and in having a trump; also, any one of several combinations of cards which score in this game. © Webster 1913
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