Adjacent Words

Imp definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IMP, n.
1. A son; offspring; progeny.
The tender imp was weaned.
A lad of life, an imp of fame.
2. A subaltern or puny devil.
IMP, v.t.
1. To graft.
2. To lengthen; to extend or enlarge by something inserted or added; a term originally used by falconers, who repair a hawk's wing by adding feathers.
Imp out our drooping country's broken wings.
--The false north displays
Her broken league to imp her serpent wings.
This verb is, I believe, used only in poetry.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous [syn: elf, hob, gremlin, pixie, pixy, brownie, imp]
2: one who is playfully mischievous [syn: imp, scamp, monkey, rascal, rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English impe, from Old English impa, from impian to imp Date: before 12th century 1. obsolete shoot, bud; also graft 2. a. a small demon ; fiend b. a mischievous child ; urchin II. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English impian to graft, from Vulgar Latin *imputare, from Late Latin impotus grafted shoot, from Greek emphytos implanted, from emphyein to implant, from em- ²en- + phyein to bring forth — more at be Date: 15th century 1. to graft or repair (a wing, tail, or feather) with a feather to improve a falcon's flying capacity 2. to equip with wings III. abbreviation 1. imperative 2. imperfect 3. imperial 4. import; imported

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a mischievous child. 2 a small mischievous devil or sprite. --v.tr. 1 add feathers to (the wing of a falcon) to restore or improve its flight. 2 archaic enlarge; add by grafting. Etymology: OE impa, impe young shoot, scion, impian graft: ult. f. Gk emphutos implanted, past part. of emphuo

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Imp Imp, n. [OE. imp a graft, AS. impa; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ymp, prob. fr. LL. impotus, Gr. ? engrafted, innate, fr. ? to implant; ? in + ? to produce; akin to E. be. See 1st In-, Be.] 1. A shoot; a scion; a bud; a slip; a graft. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 2. An offspring; progeny; child; scion. [Obs.] The tender imp was weaned. --Fairfax. 3. A young or inferior devil; a little, malignant spirit; a puny demon; a contemptible evil worker. To mingle in the clamorous fray Of squabbling imps. --Beattie. 4. Something added to, or united with, another, to lengthen it out or repair it, -- as, an addition to a beehive; a feather inserted in a broken wing of a bird; a length of twisted hair in a fishing line. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Imp Imp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Imped; p. pr. & vb. n. Imping.] [AS. impian to imp, ingraft, plant; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ympa, OHG. impf[=o]n, impit[=o]n, G. impfen. See Imp, n.] 1. To graft; to insert as a scion. [Obs.] --Rom. of R. 2. (Falconry) To graft with new feathers, as a wing; to splice a broken feather. Hence, Fig.: To repair; to extend; to increase; to strengthen to equip. [Archaic] Imp out our drooping country's broken wing. --Shak. Who lazily imp their wings with other men's plumes. --Fuller. Here no frail Muse shall imp her crippled wing. --Holmes. Help, ye tart satirists, to imp my rage With all the scorpions that should whip this age. --Cleveland.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(imps) 1. In fairy stories, an imp is a small, magical creature that often causes trouble in a playful way. = sprite N-COUNT 2. People sometimes refer to a naughty child as an imp. (INFORMAL) N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Sprite, hobgoblin, flibbertigibbet, little demon or devil, malignant spirit.

Moby Thesaurus

Ariel, Befind, Corrigan, Dingbelle, Fifinella, Finnbeara, Hob, Hobgoblin, JD, Mab, Oberon, Puck, Titania, appendage, arm, bad boy, bad fairy, bad peri, banshee, booger, bough, branch, brat, brownie, buffoon, bugger, cluricaune, cutup, devil, deviling, devilkin, diablotin, dwarf, elf, enfant terrible, erlking, fairy, fairy queen, fay, funmaker, gamin, gnome, goblin, gremlin, hand, hob, hobgoblin, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, joint, joker, jokester, juvenile delinquent, knave, kobold, leg, leprechaun, limb, link, little devil, little monkey, little rascal, lobe, lobule, member, minx, mischief, mischief-maker, monkey, offshoot, organ, ouphe, peri, pinion, pixie, poltergeist, pooka, practical joker, prankster, puca, puck, punk, punk kid, pwca, ramification, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, rowdy, ruffian, runner, scamp, scapegrace, scion, spoiled brat, spray, sprig, sprite, spur, switch, sylph, sylphid, tail, tendril, tokoloshe, troll, twig, urchin, wag, whippersnapper, wing, young devil