From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
imperial
adj 1: relating to or associated with an empire; "imperial
colony"; "the imperial gallon was standardized legally
throughout the British Empire"
2: of or belonging to the British Imperial System of weights and
measures
3: befitting or belonging to an emperor or empress; "imperial
palace"
4: belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler; "golden age of
imperial splendor"; "purple tyrant"; "regal attire"; "treated
with royal acclaim"; "the royal carriage of a stag's head"
[syn: imperial, majestic, purple, regal, royal]
n 1: a small tufted beard worn by Emperor Napoleon III [syn:
imperial, imperial beard]
2: a piece of luggage carried on top of a coach
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Imperial \Im*pe"ri*al\, a. [OE. emperial, OF. emperial, F.
imp['e]rial, 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.
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The last
That wore the imperial diadem of Rome. --Shak.
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2. Belonging to, or suitable to, supreme authority, or one
who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme. "The imperial
democracy of Athens." --Mitford.
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Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice. --Shak.
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To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free,
These are imperial arts, and worthy thee. --Dryden.
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He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line
of battle. --E. Everett.
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3. Of superior or unusual size or excellence; as, imperial
paper; imperial tea, etc.
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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. (Zool.) 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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Imperial \Im*pe"ri*al\, n. [F. imp['e]riale: cf. Sp. imperial.]
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1. The tuft of hair on a man's lower lip and chin; -- so
called from the style of beard of Napoleon III.
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2. An outside seat on a diligence. --T. Hughes.
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3. A luggage case on the top of a coach. --Simmonds.
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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.
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5. A gold coin of Russia worth ten rubles, or about eight
dollars. --McElrath.
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6. A kind of fine cloth brought into England from Greece. or
other Eastern countries, in the Middle Ages.
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7. 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 Suppl.]