imperial Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a small tufted beard worn by Emperor Napoleon III
    imperial beard.
  2. noun a piece of luggage carried on top of a coach
  3. adjective relating to or associated with an empire
    • imperial colony
    • the imperial gallon was standardized legally throughout the British Empire
  4. adjective of or belonging to the British Imperial System of weights and measures
  5. adjective befitting or belonging to an emperor or empress
    • imperial palace
  6. adjective satellite belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    majestic; purple; regal; royal.
    • golden age of imperial splendor
    • purple tyrant
    • regal attire
    • treated with royal acclaim
    • the royal carriage of a stag's head

WordNet

Im*pe"ri*al adjective
Etymology
OE. emperial, OF. emperial, F. impérial, fr. L. imperialis, fr. imperium command, sovereignty, empire. See Empire.
Definitions
  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.
Im*pe"ri*al noun
Etymology
F. impériale: cf. Sp. imperial.
Definitions
  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 drowing, 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