Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or suggestive of an empire or a sovereign, especially an emperor or empress.
  • adjective Ruling over extensive territories or over colonies or dependencies.
  • adjective Having supreme authority; sovereign.
  • adjective Regal; majestic.
  • adjective Outstanding in size or quality.
  • adjective Of or belonging to the British Imperial System of weights and measures.
  • noun An emperor or empress.
  • noun The top of a carriage.
  • noun Something outstanding in size or quality.
  • noun A variable size of paper, usually 23 by 33 inches (55.8 by 83.8 centimeters).
  • noun A pointed beard grown from the lower lip and chin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A member of the imperial or emperor's party; a soldier of the imperial army.
  • noun An imperial personage; an emperor.
  • Of or pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor or empress.
  • Of or pertaining to supreme authority, or to one who wieldsit; sovereign; supreme; august; commanding.
  • Fit or suitable for an emperor; hence, of imposing size or excellence.
  • In the old German empire, a city directly subordinate to the empire, having a seat and vote in the Reichstag. The constitutions of such cities varied greatly, some being democratic and others aristocratic. Of the fifty-one impperial cities existing in the eighteenth century, nearly all lost their practical independence in 1803, and were annexed to other states. Three of them —Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck - are members of the modern German empire.
  • noun A gold coin issued by imperial authority; specifically, a Russian gold coin of the eighteenth century, of the value of 10 rubles. The half-imperial, of 5 rubles, is still coined.
  • noun In architecture, an imperial roof or dome.
  • noun The top of a carriage, especially of a diligence; hence, a case for luggage carried on the top of a coach.
  • noun A small part of the beard left growing from the middle of the chin near the under lip, the rest being shaved off: so called from the emperor Xapoleon III., who wore his beard in this way.
  • noun Anything of unusual size or excellence, as a large decanter, etc.
  • noun A size of writing-paper, 22 × 30 inches; also, a size of printing-paper, 22 × 32 inches.
  • noun A size of slates, 2 feet wide and from 1 foot to 2½ feet in length.
  • noun A rich fabric in use throughout the middle, ages, the material and nature of which are unknown, except that it was often enriched by the use of gold.
  • noun A game at cards mentioned as having been played by Henry VIII.
  • noun A beverage made by dissolving half an ounce of cream-of-tartar in three pints of boiling water, and adding four ounces of white sugar and half an ounce of fresh lemon- peel.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The tuft of hair on a man's lower lip and chin; -- so called from the style of beard of Napoleon III.
  • noun An outside seat on a diligence.
  • noun A luggage case on the top of a coach.
  • noun 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.
  • noun A gold coin of Russia worth ten rubles, or about eight dollars.
  • noun A kind of fine cloth brought into England from Greece. or other Eastern countries, in the Middle Ages.
  • noun 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.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor
  • adjective Belonging to, or suitable to, supreme authority, or one who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme.
  • adjective Of superior or unusual size or excellence
  • adjective etc. See Bushel, Gallon, etc.
  • adjective the, the sovereign court of the old German empire.
  • adjective under the first German empire, a city having no head but the emperor.
  • adjective an assembly of all the states of the German empire.
  • adjective (Manuf.) See under 8th Drill.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) See Eagle.
  • adjective See Paris green, under Green.
  • adjective the royal guard instituted by Napoleon I.
  • adjective the standards legalized by the British Parliament.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Related to an empire, emperor, or empress.
  • adjective Relating to the British imperial system of measurement.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin imperiālis, from imperium, command; see empire. N., sense 5, after the beard of Napoleon III.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin imperiālis ("of the empire or emperor, imperial"), from imperium ("empire, imperial government") + -ālis, from imperō ("command, order"), from im- ("form of in") + parō ("prepare, arrange; intend").

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Examples

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  • In rare/antique book printing, a type of octavo.

    February 20, 2007