from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gallon \Gal"lon\, n. [OF galon, jalon, LL. galo, galona, fr.
galum a liquid measure; cf. F. jale large bowl. Cf. {Gill} a
measure.]
A measure of capacity, containing four quarts; -- used, for
the most part, in liquid measure, but sometimes in dry
measure.
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Note: The standart gallon of the Unites States contains 231
cubic inches, or 8.3389 pounds avoirdupois of distilled
water at its maximum density, and with the barometer at
30 inches. This is almost exactly equivalent to a
cylinder of seven inches in diameter and six inches in
height, and is the same as the old English wine gallon.
The beer gallon, now little used in the United States,
contains 282 cubic inches. The English imperial gallon
contains 10 pounds avoirdupois of distilled water at
62? of Fahrenheit, and barometer at 30 inches, equal to
277.274 cubic inches.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Imperial \Im*pe"ri*al\, a. [OE. emperial, OF. emperial, F.
imp['e]rial, fr. L. imperialis, fr. imperium command,
sovereignty, empire. See {Empire}.]
1. Of or pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as, an
imperial government; imperial authority or edict.
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The last
That wore the imperial diadem of Rome. --Shak.
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2. Belonging to, or suitable to, supreme authority, or one
who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme. "The imperial
democracy of Athens." --Mitford.
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Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice. --Shak.
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To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free,
These are imperial arts, and worthy thee. --Dryden.
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He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line
of battle. --E. Everett.
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3. Of superior or unusual size or excellence; as, imperial
paper; imperial tea, etc.
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{Imperial bushel}, {gallon}, etc. See {Bushel}, {Gallon},
etc.
{Imperial chamber}, the, the sovereign court of the old
German empire.
{Imperial city}, under the first German empire, a city having
no head but the emperor.
{Imperial diet}, an assembly of all the states of the German
empire.
{Imperial drill}. (Manuf.) See under 8th {Drill}.
{Imperial eagle}. (Zool.) See {Eagle}.
{Imperial green}. See {Paris green}, under {Green}.
{Imperial guard}, the royal guard instituted by Napoleon I.
{Imperial weights and measures}, the standards legalized by
the British Parliament.
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