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IMP (O. Eng. impa, a graft, shoot; th...

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 340 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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IMP (O. Eng. impa, a See also:graft, shoot; the verb impian is cognate with Ger. impfen, to graft, inoculate, and the Fr. enter; the ultimate origin is probably the Gr. 'µ4uety, to implant, cf. Et.A4Uros, engrafted)  , originally a slip or shoot of a plant or See also:tree used for grafting . This use is seen in See also:Chaucer (See also:Prologue to the See also:Monk's See also:Tale, 68) " Of fieble trees ther comen wrecched ympes." The verb " to See also:imp " in the sense of " to See also:graft " was especially used of the grafting of feathers on to the wing of a See also:falcon or See also:hawk to replace broken or damaged plumage, and is frequently used metaphorically . Like " See also:scion," " imp " was till the 17th See also:century used of a member of a See also:family, especially of high See also:rank, hence often used as See also:equivalent to " See also:child." The New See also:English See also:Dictionary quotes an See also:epitaph (1584) in the See also:Beauchamp See also:chapel at See also:Warwick, " Heere resteth the See also:body of the See also:noble Impe See also:Robert of See also:Dudley ... sonne of Robert See also:Erie of Leycester." The current use of the word for a small See also:devil or mischievous sprite is due to the expressions " imp of Satan, or of the devil or of See also:hell," in the sense of " child of evil." It was thus particularly applied to the demons supposed to be the " See also:familiar " See also:spirits of witches .

End of Article: IMP (O. Eng. impa, a graft, shoot; the verb impian is cognate with Ger. impfen, to graft, inoculate, and the Fr. enter; the ultimate origin is probably the Gr. 'µ4uety, to implant, cf. Et.A4Uros, engrafted)
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