imperium

[ im-peer-ee-uh m ]

/ ɪmˈpɪər i əm /

command; supreme power.

area of dominion; sphere of control or monopoly; empire.

a nation having or exerting supreme power; superpower.

Law. the right to command the force of the state in order to enforce the law.

Origin of imperium

1645–55; < Latin: supreme administrative power, authority, empire, equivalent to imper(āre) to rule (see imperative) + -ium -ium

Boehner has no sense of imperium, and no apparent ability to threaten or intimidate rank-and-file members into falling in line.

Fiscal Cliff Vote Fails Due to Republican Theology on Taxes |Daniel Gross |December 21, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
And Pandit never ruled with the imperium that used to come with this office.

Citi CEO Vikram Pandit Unexpectedly Quits—Let the Conspiracy Theories Begin |Daniel Gross, Matthew Zeitlin |October 16, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
To restore the original commerce between man and nature, and to recover the imperium hominis, is the grand object of all science.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1 |Various
"Womanhood seems to be organized as a sort of imperium in imperio in your system," I said.

Looking Backward |Edward Bellamy

Each retained this mark of sovereign power (Imperium) for a month at a time.

The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 1 |Various
The clergy had held for many centuries an imperium in imperio.

The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon |J.A. Froude
It was difficult to reconcile the unity of the imperium with the multiplicity of kings.

The Unity of Civilization |Various

imperium

/ (ɪmˈpɪərɪəm) /

(in ancient Rome) the supreme power, held esp by consuls and emperors, to command and administer in military, judicial, and civil affairs

the right to command; supreme power

a less common word for empire

C17: from Latin: command, empire, from imperāre to command; see emperor