Imperial Meaning
/ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjRelated to an empire, emperor, or empress.
adjRelating to the British imperial system of measurement.
Sentence Examples
The royal family lives in the Imperial Palace.
In the imperial measurement system, four quarts equals one gallon.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ palace was decorated with gold and jewels to show the emperor's power.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The grand palace was once the ____ residence of the powerful emperors of the ancient dynasty.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"the imperial diadem of Rome"
— c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
"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."
— 2023, Patrick Lejtenyi, Food price perception can depend on whether it is measured in imperial or metric, according to new Concordia research, Concordia University News:
"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."
— 1816, John Freeman Milward Dovaston, The Sonnet:
"...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."
— 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 134–135:
"[T]he imperials were packed, and the post-chariot was at the door."
— 1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 3, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 1818:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ palace was decorated with gold and jewels to show the emperor's power.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The grand palace was once the ____ residence of the powerful emperors of the ancient dynasty.