Imperial guard

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]