imperiaal

Imperiaal is a Dutch adjective meaning related to an empire or to imperial rule. It is used in various contexts, including politics, culture, and architecture, to indicate things associated with an empire. In metrology, imperiaal (from imperial in English) also refers to the British imperial system of measurement, which coexists with the metric system in some places.

The British imperial system was standardized in the 19th century and defined by specific units of length, weight, and volume. For length, common units include the inch, foot, yard, and mile. For weight, the pound and ounce are typical, and for volume, the pint, quart, and gallon are used. There are also imperial units of area such as the acre. The imperial system was widely used across the British Empire and influenced measurement practices in many former colonies.

Today, metric units are the global standard for most purposes. In the United Kingdom, metric is used for most commercial and scientific measurements, but imperial units remain in everyday use for certain things, such as road distances (miles) and beer or milk sales (pints). In the United States, a separate customary system is used for many everyday measurements. Some former imperial countries retain historical ties to imperial units in specific contexts, while others have largely transitioned to metric.

Etymology of the term comes from Latin imperialis, via Old French impérial, and in Dutch usage the form imperiaal is common in discussing both imperial governance and imperial measurement.