imperial

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imperial¹

  • /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl/ Australia, UK
  • /ɪmˈpɪɹ.i.əl/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English imperial, from Old French imperial, from Latin imperiālis (“of the empire or emperor, imperial”), from imperium (“empire, imperial government”) + -ālis, from imperō (“command, order”), from im- (“form of in”) + parō (“prepare, arrange; intend”). Displaced Old English cāserlīċ.

adjective more imperial · most imperial

  1. Related to an empire, emperor, or empress. the imperial diadem of Rome
  2. Relating to the British imperial system of measurement. Using imperial units such as pounds makes fresh produce look cheaper than it really is, and it might be luring consumers away from frozen produce, which could possibly provide the same nutritional benefits at lower cost.
  3. Very grand or fine.
  4. Of special, superior, or unusual size or excellence.
  5. in particular, of alcohol Stronger than typical. (Derived from the name of Russian Imperial stout, a strong dark beer.) Imperial pale ale, Imperial IPA, Imperial pilsner, Imperial milk stout, Imperial lager, Imperial mead

Similar: in old money

noun imperials

  1. countable, uncountable A bottle of wine (usually Bordeaux) containing 6 liters of fluid, eight times the volume of a standard bottle.
  2. countable, uncountable A writing paper size measuring 30 × 22 inches, or printing paper measuring 32 × 22 inches.
  3. uncountable A card game differing from piquet in some minor details, and in having a trump.
  4. countable Any of several combinations of cards which score in this game.
  5. countable, uncountable A crown imperial. There are who say the sonnet's meted maze Is all too fettered for the poet's powers, Compelled to crowd his flush and airy flowers Like pots of tall imperials, ill at ease.
  6. countable, uncountable A tuft of hair on the lower lip (so called from its use by Napoleon III).

    Similar: royal

  7. countable, uncountable A kind of dome, as in Moorish buildings.
  8. countable, historical, uncountable An outside or roof seat on a diligence or carriage. ...and she was just in time to see Mr. Boyne Sillery hand her aunt into a carriage, jump in himself, when it drove off with a rapidity which scarcely allowed her to observe that a large imperial was on the top, and her aunt's servant, with a huge bandbox, on the dickey.
  9. countable, historical, uncountable A suitcase or trunk designed to be transported on the roof of a carriage. [T]he imperials were packed, and the post-chariot was at the door.
  10. countable, uncountable A variety of green tea.

Imperial²

adjective

  1. abbreviation, clipping, not comparable Clipping of Imperial Japanese For quotations using this term, see Citations:Imperial.
  2. not comparable Alternative letter-case form of imperial (“of alcohol: stronger”).

proper noun

  1. A city in Imperial County, California, United States.
  2. A city, the county seat of Chase County, Nebraska, United States.
  3. A town in Saskatchewan, Canada.
  4. Imperial College London. He is now professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial
  5. A census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States.
  6. A census-designated place in Texas, United States.
  7. An unincorporated community in Virginia, United States.
  8. An unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States.
  9. A former department of Chile.

noun Imperials

  1. A large Bordeaux wine bottle with the capacity of about 6 liters, equivalent to 8 standard bottles.

    Similar: methuselah

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: royal, regal, noble, majestic, purple, imperial beard, emperor, empire, imperialist, imperialistic, colonial, imperialism, reich, british, upper, oup

adjective

Similar: in old money

Translations

Every language

adj related to an empire

Españolimperial
한국어제국의 jegugui
日本語天皇の tennō no, 皇帝の kōtei no
中文帝國的 /帝国的 dìguó de, 皇帝的 huángdì de
Portuguêsimperial
Françaisimpérial
Deutschkaiserlich
Italianoimperiale
Ελληνικάαυτοκρατορικός aftokratorikós
Românăimperial
Русскийимпе́рский impérskij, импера́торский imperátorskij, ца́рский cárskij
Tiếng Việtthành nội, hoàng đế
العربيةإِمْبِرَاطُورِيّ ʔimbirāṭūriyy, مَلَكِيّ malakiyy

adj related to the British measurement system

Portuguêsimperial
Françaisimpérial
Deutschimperial, zöllig
Românăimperial
Русскийбрита́нский británskij, импе́рский impérskij

adj very grand or fine

Françaisroyal
Ελληνικάεπιβλητικός epivlitikós, μεγαλειώδης megaleiódis
Русскийвеликоле́пный velikolépnyj, вели́чественный velíčestvennyj

adj of special, superior, or unusual size or excellence

Françaisimpérial
Ελληνικάβασιλικός vasilikós
Русскийца́рский cárskij, короле́вский korolévskij

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Cite this
MLA

"imperial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/imperial. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

imperial. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/imperial

Chicago

"imperial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/imperial.

BibTeX
@misc{imperial_2026,
  title = {imperial},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/imperial},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}