Definition for IM-PE'RI-AL

IM-PE'RI-AL, a. [Fr. from L. imperialis, from impero, to command. See Emperor.]

  1. Pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as, an imperial government; an imperial diadem; imperial authority or edict; imperial power or sway.
  2. Royal; belonging to a monarch; as, an imperial palace; imperial arts. Dryden.
  3. Pertaining to royalty; denoting sovereignty.
  4. Commanding; maintaining supremacy; as, the imperial democracy of Athens. Mitford. Imperial chamber, the sovereign court of the German empire. Encyc. Imperial city, a city in Germany which has no head but the emperor. Imperial diet, an assembly of all the states of the German empire. Encyc.

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