imp

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To graft or implant (something other than a plant); to fix or set (something) in.

   That headleſſe tyrants tronke he reard from ground, / And, having ympt the head to it agayne, / Vpon his vſuall beaſt it firmely bound, / And made it ſo to ride, as it aliue was found.

2. 2
   verb

   To engraft (a feather) on to a broken feather in a bird's wing or tail to repair it; to engraft (feathers) on to a bird, or a bird's wing or tail.

   I have known feathers so imped that the eye could not discern the place of juncture, and it was difficult even to discover it by passing the thumb-nail down the shaft of the imped feather.

3. 3
   verb

   To provide (someone or something) with wings, hence enabling them or it to soar.

   With thee / Let me combine, / And feel this day thy victorie: / For, if I imp my wing on thine, / Affliction ſhall advance the flight in me.

4. 4
   noun

   A small, mischievous sprite or a malevolent supernatural creature, somewhat comparable to a demon but smaller and less powerful, formerly regarded as the child of the devil or a demon (see sense 3.2).

   "Yes, there are a great, great many coming after us; at least a score," said the lad.—"Well, that's the troll," said the horse; "he is coming after us with his imps."

5. 5
   noun

   A mischievous child.

   Concourſe, and noiſe, and toil, he ever fled; / Nor cared to mingle in the clamorous fray / Of ſquabbling imps; but to the foreſt ſped, / Or roam'd at large the lonely mountain's head; […]

6. 6
   noun

   A baby Tasmanian devil.

   When they are upset, their ears blush a furious crimson, resembling red horns and adding to their diabolical image. (Baby devils, packed four to a pouch, are known as imps.)

7. 7
   noun

   A young shoot of a plant, a tree, etc.; a sapling; also, a part of a plant used for grafting; a graft.

   Þai sett hem doun al þre / Vnder a fair ympetre, / And wel sone þis fair quene / Fel on slepe opon þe grene.

8. 8
   noun

   An offspring or scion, especially of a noble family; (generally) a (usually male) child; a (young) man.

   And thou moſt dreaded impe of higheſt Ioue, / Faire Venus ſonne, that with thy cruell dart / At that good knight ſo cunningly didſt rove, / That glorious fire it kindled in his heart, / Lay now thy deadly Heben bow apart, / And with thy mother milde come to my ayde: […]

Etymology

From Middle English impen, ympen (“to plant; (figuratively) to bury; to graft; to add to, insert, put into, set in; to mend (a falcon’s feather) by attaching a new feather on to the broken stump”), from Old English impian, ġeimpian (“to graft”), from Proto-West Germanic *impōn (“to graft”), from Vulgar Latin *imputō (“to graft”), from Ancient Greek ἔμφῠτος (émphŭtos, “implanted; planted”), from ἐμφῠ́ω (emphŭ́ō, “to implant”, from ἐν- (en-, prefix meaning ‘in’) + φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō, “to bring forth, produce; to grow”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear; to become; to grow”))) + -το…