imperial

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪmˈpɪriəl/ UK /ɪmˈpɪərɪəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
relating to an empire or emperor; majestic in scale or bearing

The palace was built to project imperial grandeur to every visitor.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · relating to an empire or... royal regal majestic sovereign kingly august

Opposites

lowly humble plebeian

Word family

Derived forms imperially imperialism imperialistimperiality

Related forms empire emperor imperious

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Imperial, recorded in late Middle English, ultimately derives from Latin imperare, “to command,” the root also found in Latin imperator, “military commander.” It is therefore related to emperor, empire, imperative, and imperious.

Etymology

From Old French imperial, from Latin imperialis, from imperium ('command, empire'), from imperare ('to command'), from in- ('in') + parare ('to prepare, order').

imperialis Latin imperium Latin parare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# imperial

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪmˈpɪriəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪmˈpɪərɪəl/

## Meanings
1. relating to an empire or emperor; majestic in scale or bearing

## Examples
- The palace was built to project imperial grandeur to every visitor.

## Synonyms
- royal
- regal
- majestic
- sovereign
- kingly
- august

## Antonyms
- lowly
- humble
- plebeian

## Derived Forms
- imperially
- imperialism
- imperialist
- imperiality

## Related Forms
- empire
- emperor
- imperious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: imperialis
- Root: imperium
- Root: parare

## Etymology
From Old French imperial, from Latin imperialis, from imperium ('command, empire'), from imperare ('to command'), from in- ('in') + parare ('to prepare, order').

## AI Etymology
Imperial comes from Old French imperial, from Latin imperialis, from imperium ('command, empire'), from imperare ('to command'), from in- ('in') + parare ('to prepare, order'). The etymological trail includes Latin imperialis, Latin imperium, and Latin parare. As an adjective, imperial means relating to an empire or emperor; majestic in scale or bearing. The same family is visible in derived forms such as imperially, imperialism, imperialist, and imperiality and related forms such as empire, emperor, and imperious. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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