Imperial (?), 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.
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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. (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.
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