Definition: imperial

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7 

imperial
     adj 1: relating to or associated with an empire; "imperial colony";
            "the imperial gallon was standardized legally
            throughout the British Empire"
     2: befitting or belonging to an emperor or empress; "imperial
        palace"
     3: 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: majestic, purple, regal, royal]
     n 1: a small tufted beard worn by Emperor Napoleon III [syn: Imperial
          beard]
     2: a piece of luggage carried on top of a coach

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 

Imperial \Im*pe"ri*al\, n.
   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.
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.

            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.

   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. (Zo["o]l.) 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.
Imperial \Im*pe"ri*al\, n. [F. imp['e]riale: cf. Sp. imperial.]
   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.

Source: U.S. Gazetteer (1990) 

Imperial, CA (city, FIPS 36280)
  Location: 32.84051 N, 115.57103 W
  Population (1990): 4113 (1372 housing units)
  Area: 6.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 92251
Imperial, MO (CDP, FIPS 34354)
  Location: 38.36773 N, 90.37222 W
  Population (1990): 4156 (1564 housing units)
  Area: 14.0 sq km (land), 1.9 sq km (water)
Imperial, NE (city, FIPS 23690)
  Location: 40.51623 N, 101.63761 W
  Population (1990): 2007 (870 housing units)
  Area: 6.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 69033
Imperial, PA
  Zip code(s): 15126
Imperial, TX
  Zip code(s): 79743