# imperial
## English
### Etymology

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.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA: /ɪmˈpɪə.ɹi.əl/
* (General American) IPA: /ɪmˈpɪɹ.i.əl/
** Audio (US):(file)

### Adjective

imperial (comparative more imperial, superlative most imperial)
* Related to an empire, emperor, or empress.
** 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]:the imperial diadem of Rome
* Relating to the British imperial system of measurement.
** 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: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.
* Very grand or fine.
* Of special, superior, or unusual size or excellence.
* (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

#### Synonyms

* (humorous): in old money

#### Derived terms

* Australian pied imperial pigeon
* eastern imperial eagle
* free imperial city
* Her Imperial Highness
* His Imperial Highness
* Imperial Aramaic
* imperial circle
* Imperial City
* Imperial County
* imperial cult
* imperial cypher
* imperial decree
* imperial disease
* imperial drill
* imperial examination
* imperial gallon
* Imperial Highness
* imperial India pale ale
* imperialism
* imperialist
* imperialities
* imperiality
* imperial jade
* imperial knight
* imperially
* imperial moth
* imperial pint
* imperial prince
* imperial princess
* imperial-royal
* imperial shag
* Imperial stout
* Imperial Valley
* imperial we
* mint imperial
* neo-imperial
* Their Imperial Majesties
* Torresian imperial pigeon
* Your Imperial Highness

#### Related terms

* emperor
* empire
* empress
* imperious

#### Translations
### Noun

imperial (countable and uncountable, plural imperials)
* A bottle of wine (usually Bordeaux) containing 6 liters of fluid, eight times the volume of a standard bottle.
* (paper, printing) A writing paper size measuring 30 × 22 inches, or printing paper measuring 32 × 22 inches.
* (card games, uncountable) A card game differing from piquet in some minor details, and in having a trump.
* (card games, countable) Any of several combinations of cards which score in this game.
* A crown imperial.
** 1816, John Freeman Milward Dovaston, The Sonnet: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.
* A tuft of hair on the lower lip (so called from its use by Napoleon III).
    Synonym: royal
* A kind of dome, as in Moorish buildings.
* (historical) An outside or roof seat on a diligence or carriage.
** 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 134–135:...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.
* (historical) A suitcase or trunk designed to be transported on the roof of a carriage.
** 1818, Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 3, in Nightmare Abbey, Hookham, published 1818:[T]he imperials were packed, and the post-chariot was at the door.
* (countable, uncountable) A variety of green tea.

#### Usage notes

* A champagne or Burgundy wine bottle with the same volume would be called a methuselah.

### Anagrams

* Palmieri

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin imperiālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [im.pə.ɾiˈal]
* IPA: (Valencia) [im.pe.ɾiˈal]

### Adjective

imperial m or f (masculine and feminine plural imperials)
* imperial

#### Derived terms

* imperialisme
* imperialista

#### Related terms

* emperador
* imperi

### Further reading

* “imperial” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “imperial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “imperial” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “imperial” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Adjective

imperial m or f (plural imperiais)
* imperial

#### Derived terms

* imperialismo
* imperialista

#### Related terms

* imperio

### Further reading

* “imperial”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Dutch imperiaal, from French impérial, from Latin imperiālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɪmpɛˈrial/
* Rhymes: -al, -l
* Hyphenation: im‧pè‧ri‧al

### Adjective

impèrial
* imperial

#### Related terms

* imperialis
* imperialisme
* imperialistik
* imperium

### Further reading

* “imperial” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* inperial, imperyal, inperyal, imperyall, imperiall, emperiall, empirial

### Etymology

Borrowed from Old French imperial, emperial, from Latin imperiālis; equivalent to emperie +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /impɛriˈaːl/, /imˈpɛːrial/, /ɛm-/

### Adjective

imperial (plural and weak singular imperiale)
* Imperial; related to or being of an empire or its ruler.
* Befitting or appropriate for someone of imperial rank; superb.
* Unsurpassed, unmatched; lacking an equal or equivalent.

#### Descendants

* English: imperial
* Scots: imperial

#### References

* “imperiā̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-24.

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin imperiālis.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ĩ.pe.ɾiˈaw/ [ĩ.pe.ɾɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈɾjaw/ [ĩ.peˈɾjaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ĩ.pɨˈɾjal/ [ĩ.pɨˈɾjaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ĩ.pɨˈɾjal/ [ĩ.pɨˈɾjaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ĩ.pɨˈɾja.li/
* Hyphenation: im‧pe‧ri‧al

### Adjective

imperial m or f (plural imperiais)
* imperial

#### Derived terms

* imperialismo
* imperialista
* Vossa Majestade Imperial

#### Related terms

* imperador
* império

### Noun

imperial f (plural imperiais)
* (Portugal, regional) draft beer
    Synonyms: (Portugal, regional) fino, (Brazil) chope
** 2013, Afonso Cruz, Alice Vieira, André Gago, Catarina Fonseca, David Machado, Isabel Stidwell, José Fanha, A misteriosa mulher da ópera, Leya, →ISBN, page 155:«Traga-me mais uma imperial», disse eu ao empregado. Tinha uma praticamente cheia, mas não gosto de ser apanhado desprevenido. O Juvenal julgou que era para ele e agradeceu, eu disse-lhe «nada», e peguei na imperial, passei as ...(please add an English translation of this quotation)

### Further reading

* “imperial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French impérial and Latin imperiālis. By surface analysis, imperiu +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌim.pe.riˈal/

### Adjective

imperial m or n (feminine singular imperială, masculine plural imperiali, feminine and neuter plural imperiale)
* imperial

#### Related terms

* imperialism
* imperiu
* împărat

## Scots
### Adjective

imperial (comparative mair imperial, superlative maist imperial)
* imperial

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed 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”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /impeˈɾjal/ [ĩm.peˈɾjal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: im‧pe‧rial

### Adjective

imperial m or f (masculine and feminine plural imperiales)
* imperial

#### Derived terms

* cormorán imperial
* corona imperial
* flor imperial
* garza imperial
* imperialismo
* imperialista
* imperialmente
* manjar imperial

#### Related terms

* emperador
* imperio

### Further reading

* “imperial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10