imperiousadj.

Brit.

/ɪmˈpɪərɪəs/, U.S.

/ᵻmˈpɪriəs/

Forms:

α. 1500s imperius, 1500s ymperious, 1500s–1600s imperiouse, 1500s– imperious.

β. 1500s emperiouse, 1500s–1600s emperious.

Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French imperieux; Latin imperiōsus.

Etymology: < (i) Middle French imperieux (French impérieux ) domineering, dominant, urgent, irresistible (all 14th cent.), or its etymon (ii) classical Latin imperiōsus exercising authority, commanding, domineering, dictatorial < imperium command (see -ous suffix) + -ōsus -ous suffix.Compare Spanish imperioso (early 15th cent.), Portuguese imperioso (late 16th cent.), Italian imperioso (late 14th cent.). Specific senses. In sense 2 apparently after imperial adj. Specific forms. The β. forms show remodelling after emperor n. and empire n.

1. Having, expressing, or characterized by a domineering character or manner; overbearing, dictatorial; arrogant.Now the usual sense.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [adjective] > domineering or overbearing

masterfulc1390

pontificalc1440

overmasterfula1450

headya1513

imperious1529

supercilious1536

masterlya1544

termagant1546

law-like1556

masterlike1580

dictator-like1582

peremptory1590

domineering1598

burly1605

high-handed1606

pontificial1613

lording1629

overlordingc1629

pontifician1629

peremptor1630

dictatory1639

predominant1642

dictatorial1692

pontific1716

overbearing1718

dictativea1774

knock-me-down1848

imponenta1882

bossy1882

heavy-handed1883

seigneurial1970

1529 J. Frith Pistle Christen Reader f. lxxx^v Tel me if thow canste whether any of the kinges..have commaunded and exacted their lawes..with soch imperious a voice, folisshe hardenes, and presumption, as only this one Pope?

1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. i. 69 By this word..al kynde of domination is not signifyed, but that which is ioyned with a certaine imperious crueltie.

1613 T. Heywood Brazen Age ii. sig. K^v Th' Emperious Queene Doth tyranize ore captiue Hercules.

1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie i. 76 An imperious commanding woman, that wears the Breeches.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 231. ⁋2 [She] had from her Infancy discovered so imperious a Temper (usually called a High Spirit).

1796 W. Cole Contradiction 228 Having rescued an honest man from under the harrow of an insolent imperious landlord.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 11 A youthful face, Imperious, and of haughtiest lineaments.

1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar vii. 62 A proud, imperious aristocrat, contemptuous..of popular rights.

1921 Daily Mail 30 Sept. 11/4 The imperious tone cowed him.

1960 Pop. Sci. Feb. 205/1 He waved my objections aside with an imperious gesture. ‘Change it!’ he said.

2016 New Yorker 11 Apr. 79/1 Sometimes known as the Baroness, she was flinty and imperious and did not gladly suffer fools.

2. Of the nature or rank of an emperor or supreme ruler; belonging to, befitting, or characteristic of an emperor or supreme ruler; imperial.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [adjective]

imperialc1450

emperly?1518

imperious1532

imperatory1616

imperatorious1620

imperatorian1640

imperatorial1653

1532 R. Whitford Pype or Tonne f. lxix^v Obedience is a lady souereyne and a maystres imperious, hauynge auctorite of precepte & commaundement ouer all creatures.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxxix. 68 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 133 The orders, Which his imperious hand for laws shall signe.

1632 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age sig. D4^v Thetis, The Emperious goddesse of the Sea.

?1650 Don Bellianis 118 Most mighty Sophy of Syconia, and imperious Soldan of this great Persian Monarchy.

1712 A. Pope tr. Statius First Bk. Thebais in Misc. Poems 20 Can this Imperious Lord forget to Reign?

1783 tr. J.-J. Rousseau Confessions II. v. 15 Having neither the hypocritical nor the impudent carriage of a monk, nor the imperious appearance of a man of fashion.

1815 R. Polwhele Fair Isabel i. 17 Recent from the vernal groves On the cold floor those sprinkled blooms expire, Imperious pomp!

1887 Harper's Young People 25 Oct. 838/2 The Czar, or Tsar, of all the Russias, is Caesar under another form. The imperious name has wedged itself in history.

1915 S. Comstock Mothercraft v. 109 Be as accurate as the clock and as firm as Gibraltar, in keeping His Imperious Majesty to exact hours.

2017 Sun (Nigeria) (Nexis) 5 Mar. He didn't have an imperious nose and his jaw wasn't well carved like a Greek god.

3. Of the nature of an absolute command or demand; urgent, imperative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > urgent

urgent1496

instant1585

pressing1609

rash1609

pressive1619

imperative1621

imperious1623

exigent1624

urging1647

emergent1706

high pressure1834

acute1846

1534 [implied in: R. Barnes Supplicacion H. VIII (rev. ed.) sig. S1 Whiche thyng I do gyue for a counsell, and do not commaunde it imperiously. (at imperiously adv.)].

1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 30 The day before he sent an Imperious commandement to deliuer vp our armes, and now this day he imploied messengers about a truce.

1663 A. Cowley Ess. in Verse & Prose (1669) 1 Now wild Ambition with imperious force Rides, rains, and spurs them like th' unruly Horse.

1709 T. Robinson Vindic. Mosaick Syst. 16 in Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland Omnipotent Power might have created the whole World at one stroke, by an Imperious Fiat.

1789 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. xiii. §4 The laws of honour..make it an imperious duty to succour the weak.

1836 Bk. Shipwrecks 352 The imperious desire of self-preservation silenced every fear for a moment.

1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 278 Hunger was early seen..to be the first and most imperious appetite of all living things.

1948 Hispania 31 344 The Army fully recognized the imperious necessity of having men able to speak foreign languages.

2007 L. Aubert Music of Other v. 35 A concert is..supposed to last from one and a half to two hours, and in certain places an interval is imposed halfway through. The performance must adjust to these imperious requirements.

†4. Exercising or characterized by a commanding influence; ruling; dominant. Obsolete except as merged with senses 1 and 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > command > [adjective] > having commanding quality

imperial?c1400

imperious1592

commandinga1616

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective]

higheOE

drightlikeOE

highlyOE

drightfula1225

prouda1275

principalc1385

solemna1387

gentlec1390

high and mighty1400

imperial?c1400

royalc1405

kinglyc1425

sublimatec1425

lordfulc1429

lordlyc1440

assumpt1447

raiseda1450

haught1470

kinglikec1485

lordlike1488

triumphant1494

greatlya1500

princely?a1510

supereminent1531

princelike1532

lofta1547

lofty1548

regal1561

supernal1562

haughty1563

excelse1569

queen-like?1571

majestical1578

erecteda1586

augustious1591

ennobled1592

imperious1592

enthronized1593

august1594

high-born1598

sublimed1602

jovial1604

majestic1606

enthroned1609

starred1615

exalted1623

majestuous1633

reared1638

sublimary1655

majestative1656

kingrik1663

superb1663

grand1673

celse1708

stilted1744

canonized1790

queenly1791

apotheosized1794

princified1857

1592 S. Daniel Complaynt of Rosamond in Delia sig. H.4^v I ioy'd the happiest warmth..That euer yet imperious beautie tasted.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 366 Three Artes, that exercise most imperious power over the mindes of men; Physicke,..Religion,..Mathematicall Sciences.

1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar ii. viii. 59 Faith and Repentance, those two potent and imperious faculties.

a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 264 For to instruct is greater than to rule, And no Command's s'imperious as a School.

1798 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population i. 15 Necessity, that imperious all pervading law of nature.

1812 G. Crabbe Tales i. 7 To his experience and his native sense, He join'd a bold imperious eloquence.

5. Of a natural feature, building, etc.: having a commanding position or aspect; imposing; majestic, stately.

ΚΠ

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 88 A little further, vpon a high imperious mountaine is Rustans Tombe.

1728 Poem on Sir I. Newton in H. Pemberton View Sir I. Newton's Philos. sig. b4 Up to the skies th' imperious mountain heaves The shining verdure of the nodding woods.

1763 Refl. Terms of Peace 25 Pondicherry, that imperious Fortress of the French.

1840 J. Hanmer Sonnets x There stands a fortress by a Roman way, With battered base, and dark imperious towers.

1890 G. H. Cremer Vision of Empires ix. 341 Tender plants, which sheltered grow Beneath the shade of some imperious oak.

1928 Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geographers 18 156 Towering high and imperious above the less elevated and more dissected cone of Ashitaka.

2017 Irish Times (Nexis) 16 Dec. (Saturday Mag.) 43 Our walking tour commenced from Paseo de la Palmera, which I could easily have mistaken for Beverly Hills, with its endless high gates fronting imperious mansions.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	imperious
释义	imperiousadj. Brit. /ɪmˈpɪərɪəs/, U.S. /ᵻmˈpɪriəs/ Forms: α. 1500s imperius, 1500s ymperious, 1500s–1600s imperiouse, 1500s– imperious. β. 1500s emperiouse, 1500s–1600s emperious. Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French imperieux; Latin imperiōsus. Etymology: < (i) Middle French imperieux (French impérieux ) domineering, dominant, urgent, irresistible (all 14th cent.), or its etymon (ii) classical Latin imperiōsus exercising authority, commanding, domineering, dictatorial < imperium command (see -ous suffix) + -ōsus -ous suffix.Compare Spanish imperioso (early 15th cent.), Portuguese imperioso (late 16th cent.), Italian imperioso (late 14th cent.). Specific senses. In sense 2 apparently after imperial adj. Specific forms. The β. forms show remodelling after emperor n. and empire n. 1. Having, expressing, or characterized by a domineering character or manner; overbearing, dictatorial; arrogant.Now the usual sense. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [adjective] > domineering or overbearing masterfulc1390 pontificalc1440 overmasterfula1450 headya1513 imperious1529 supercilious1536 masterlya1544 termagant1546 law-like1556 masterlike1580 dictator-like1582 peremptory1590 domineering1598 burly1605 high-handed1606 pontificial1613 lording1629 overlordingc1629 pontifician1629 peremptor1630 dictatory1639 predominant1642 dictatorial1692 pontific1716 overbearing1718 dictativea1774 knock-me-down1848 imponenta1882 bossy1882 heavy-handed1883 seigneurial1970 1529 J. Frith Pistle Christen Reader f. lxxx^v Tel me if thow canste whether any of the kinges..have commaunded and exacted their lawes..with soch imperious a voice, folisshe hardenes, and presumption, as only this one Pope? 1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. i. 69 By this word..al kynde of domination is not signifyed, but that which is ioyned with a certaine imperious crueltie. 1613 T. Heywood Brazen Age ii. sig. K^v Th' Emperious Queene Doth tyranize ore captiue Hercules. 1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie i. 76 An imperious commanding woman, that wears the Breeches. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 231. ⁋2 [She] had from her Infancy discovered so imperious a Temper (usually called a High Spirit). 1796 W. Cole Contradiction 228 Having rescued an honest man from under the harrow of an insolent imperious landlord. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 11 A youthful face, Imperious, and of haughtiest lineaments. 1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar vii. 62 A proud, imperious aristocrat, contemptuous..of popular rights. 1921 Daily Mail 30 Sept. 11/4 The imperious tone cowed him. 1960 Pop. Sci. Feb. 205/1 He waved my objections aside with an imperious gesture. ‘Change it!’ he said. 2016 New Yorker 11 Apr. 79/1 Sometimes known as the Baroness, she was flinty and imperious and did not gladly suffer fools. 2. Of the nature or rank of an emperor or supreme ruler; belonging to, befitting, or characteristic of an emperor or supreme ruler; imperial. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [adjective] imperialc1450 emperly?1518 imperious1532 imperatory1616 imperatorious1620 imperatorian1640 imperatorial1653 1532 R. Whitford Pype or Tonne f. lxix^v Obedience is a lady souereyne and a maystres imperious, hauynge auctorite of precepte & commaundement ouer all creatures. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxxix. 68 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 133 The orders, Which his imperious hand for laws shall signe. 1632 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age sig. D4^v Thetis, The Emperious goddesse of the Sea. ?1650 Don Bellianis 118 Most mighty Sophy of Syconia, and imperious Soldan of this great Persian Monarchy. 1712 A. Pope tr. Statius First Bk. Thebais in Misc. Poems 20 Can this Imperious Lord forget to Reign? 1783 tr. J.-J. Rousseau Confessions II. v. 15 Having neither the hypocritical nor the impudent carriage of a monk, nor the imperious appearance of a man of fashion. 1815 R. Polwhele Fair Isabel i. 17 Recent from the vernal groves On the cold floor those sprinkled blooms expire, Imperious pomp! 1887 Harper's Young People 25 Oct. 838/2 The Czar, or Tsar, of all the Russias, is Caesar under another form. The imperious name has wedged itself in history. 1915 S. Comstock Mothercraft v. 109 Be as accurate as the clock and as firm as Gibraltar, in keeping His Imperious Majesty to exact hours. 2017 Sun (Nigeria) (Nexis) 5 Mar. He didn't have an imperious nose and his jaw wasn't well carved like a Greek god. 3. Of the nature of an absolute command or demand; urgent, imperative. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > urgent urgent1496 instant1585 pressing1609 rash1609 pressive1619 imperative1621 imperious1623 exigent1624 urging1647 emergent1706 high pressure1834 acute1846 1534 [implied in: R. Barnes Supplicacion H. VIII (rev. ed.) sig. S1 Whiche thyng I do gyue for a counsell, and do not commaunde it imperiously. (at imperiously adv.)]. 1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 30 The day before he sent an Imperious commandement to deliuer vp our armes, and now this day he imploied messengers about a truce. 1663 A. Cowley Ess. in Verse & Prose (1669) 1 Now wild Ambition with imperious force Rides, rains, and spurs them like th' unruly Horse. 1709 T. Robinson Vindic. Mosaick Syst. 16 in Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland Omnipotent Power might have created the whole World at one stroke, by an Imperious Fiat. 1789 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. xiii. §4 The laws of honour..make it an imperious duty to succour the weak. 1836 Bk. Shipwrecks 352 The imperious desire of self-preservation silenced every fear for a moment. 1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 278 Hunger was early seen..to be the first and most imperious appetite of all living things. 1948 Hispania 31 344 The Army fully recognized the imperious necessity of having men able to speak foreign languages. 2007 L. Aubert Music of Other v. 35 A concert is..supposed to last from one and a half to two hours, and in certain places an interval is imposed halfway through. The performance must adjust to these imperious requirements. †4. Exercising or characterized by a commanding influence; ruling; dominant. Obsolete except as merged with senses 1 and 3. ΘΚΠ society > authority > command > [adjective] > having commanding quality imperial?c1400 imperious1592 commandinga1616 the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective] higheOE drightlikeOE highlyOE drightfula1225 prouda1275 principalc1385 solemna1387 gentlec1390 high and mighty1400 imperial?c1400 royalc1405 kinglyc1425 sublimatec1425 lordfulc1429 lordlyc1440 assumpt1447 raiseda1450 haught1470 kinglikec1485 lordlike1488 triumphant1494 greatlya1500 princely?a1510 supereminent1531 princelike1532 lofta1547 lofty1548 regal1561 supernal1562 haughty1563 excelse1569 queen-like?1571 majestical1578 erecteda1586 augustious1591 ennobled1592 imperious1592 enthronized1593 august1594 high-born1598 sublimed1602 jovial1604 majestic1606 enthroned1609 starred1615 exalted1623 majestuous1633 reared1638 sublimary1655 majestative1656 kingrik1663 superb1663 grand1673 celse1708 stilted1744 canonized1790 queenly1791 apotheosized1794 princified1857 1592 S. Daniel Complaynt of Rosamond in Delia sig. H.4^v I ioy'd the happiest warmth..That euer yet imperious beautie tasted. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 366 Three Artes, that exercise most imperious power over the mindes of men; Physicke,..Religion,..Mathematicall Sciences. 1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar ii. viii. 59 Faith and Repentance, those two potent and imperious faculties. a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 264 For to instruct is greater than to rule, And no Command's s'imperious as a School. 1798 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population i. 15 Necessity, that imperious all pervading law of nature. 1812 G. Crabbe Tales i. 7 To his experience and his native sense, He join'd a bold imperious eloquence. 5. Of a natural feature, building, etc.: having a commanding position or aspect; imposing; majestic, stately. ΚΠ 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 88 A little further, vpon a high imperious mountaine is Rustans Tombe. 1728 Poem on Sir I. Newton in H. Pemberton View Sir I. Newton's Philos. sig. b4 Up to the skies th' imperious mountain heaves The shining verdure of the nodding woods. 1763 Refl. Terms of Peace 25 Pondicherry, that imperious Fortress of the French. 1840 J. Hanmer Sonnets x There stands a fortress by a Roman way, With battered base, and dark imperious towers. 1890 G. H. Cremer Vision of Empires ix. 341 Tender plants, which sheltered grow Beneath the shade of some imperious oak. 1928 Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geographers 18 156 Towering high and imperious above the less elevated and more dissected cone of Ashitaka. 2017 Irish Times (Nexis) 16 Dec. (Saturday Mag.) 43 Our walking tour commenced from Paseo de la Palmera, which I could easily have mistaken for Beverly Hills, with its endless high gates fronting imperious mansions. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.1529
随便看	without further ado without further delay without gab without gainsaying without grief without grith without guess without guessing without guile without guilt without hight without hone without impeachment of waste without intermission without lack without lain without language without less, without more without let without letting without lie without limit without lipse without lite without longer delay