5 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
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.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
imp
n 1: (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous [syn: {elf},
{hob}, {gremlin}, {pixie}, {pixy}, {brownie}]
2: one who is playfully mischievous [syn: {scamp}, {monkey}, {rascal},
{rapscallion}, {scalawag}, {scallywag}]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
IMP
1. <language> {IMProved Mercury autocode}.
2. <language> An extensible dialect of {ALGOL 60}, for {CDC
1604}.
["Experience with an Extensible Language", Edgar T. Irons,
CACM 13(1):31-39, Jan 1970].
3. <language> {Interpretive Menu Processor}.
4. <language> {IMPlementation language}.
5. <networking> {Interface Message Processor}.
(1996-04-07)
From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:
IMP
Interface Message Processors (ARPANET, MILNET)