IMPED

Etymology 1

Noun

imped (plural impeds)

a creature without feet

Etymology 2

Adjective

imped (not comparable)

(especially of feathers in falconry) Engrafted, eked, implanted; supplemented by imping.

Etymology 3

Verb

imped

simple past tense and past participle of imp

Source: Wiktionary


IMP

Imp, n. Etym: [OE. imp a graft, AS. impa; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ymp, prob. fr. LL. impotus, Gr. 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.]

Imp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Imped; p. pr. & vb. n. Imping.] Etym: [AS. impian to imp, ingraft, plant; akin to Dan. ympe, Sw. ympa, OHG. impfon, impiton, G. impfen. See Imp, n.]

1. To graft; to insert as a scion. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

2. (Falconry)

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 May 2025

HEEDLESS

(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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