- Imperial city
- 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.
[1913 Webster]
The last That wore the imperial diadem of Rome. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
2. Belonging to, or suitable to, supreme authority, or one who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme. ``The imperial democracy of Athens.'' --Mitford. [1913 Webster]
Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns With an imperial voice. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free, These are imperial arts, and worthy thee. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line of battle. --E. Everett. [1913 Webster]
3. Of superior or unusual size or excellence; as, imperial paper; imperial tea, etc. [1913 Webster]
{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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.