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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Imperial

Im-pē'ri-al, a.

adjective

(89), a. [Fr. impérial, Sp. & Pg. imperial, Pr. emperial, It. imperiale, Lat. imperialis, from imperium, command, sovereignty, empire, from imperare, to command.] 1. Pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as, an imperial government; imperial authority or edict; imperial power or sway; the imperial parliament. The last That wore the imperial diadem of Rome. Shak. 2. Belonging to supreme authority, or one who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme. “The imperial democracy of Athens.” Mitford. Whom opinion crowns With an imperial voice. Shak. He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line of battle. E. Everett. 3. Of superior size or excellence; as, imperial paper, tea, &c. Imperial chamber, the sovereign court of the German empire. — Imperial city, a city in Germany having no head but the emperor. — Imperial diet, an assembly of all the states of the German empire.

Im-pē'ri-al, n.

noun

n. [Fr. impériale, Sp. imperial.]

  1. (Arch.) A kind of dome, which, viewed in profile, is pointed toward the top, and widens as it descends, as in Moorish buildings. Elmes.
  2. A tuft of hair on a man's lower lip.
  3. An outside seat on a diligence.
  4. A case for luggage carried on the top of a coach. Simmonds.
  5. Any thing of unusual size or excellence, as a large decanter, &c. Simmonds.