imprescribable imprescribable (im-pre-skri ba-bl), a. [<in-3 + prescribable.] Same as imprescriptible. The ownership of land was by the law of the islands [Orkney] reserved to the descendants of the original occupant, by an inalienable and imprescribable entail. Westminster Rev., CXXVIII. 688. imprescriptibility (im-pre-skrip-ti-bil'i-ti), n. [= F. imprescriptibilité = Pg. imprescriptibilidade; as imprescriptible + -ity: see -bility.] The character of being imprescriptible. The Pontifical letters of Gregory XIII., in 1580, by which the rights and dues belonging to the State were recalled to vigour, and their imprescriptibility established. Ure, Dict., IV. 859. = imprescriptible (im-pre-skrip ́ti-bl), a. [= F. imprescriptible = Sp. imprescriptible Pg. imprescriptivel= It. imprescrittibile; as in-3 + prescriptible.] Not founded on prescription; existing independently of law or convention; not justly to be violated or taken away. Also imprescribable. Brady went back to the primary sources of our history, and endeavoured to show that Magna Charta, as well as every other constitutional law, were but rebellious encroachments on the ancient uncontrollable imprescripti ble prerogatives of the monarchy. Hallam. The award of the tribunal of posterity is a severe decision, but an imprescriptible law. I. D'Israeli, Amen. of Lit., I. 254. imprescriptibly (im-pre-skrip'ti-bli), adv. In an imprescriptible manner. impreset, impress3t (im-pres', im-pres'), n. [Early mod. E. also impresse; (OF. imprese (= Sp. empresa, emprise It. impresa), a mark, badge, as of a knight undertaking an enterprise, a particular use of emprise, an enterprise: see emprise. Cf. impresa.] A badge, cognizance, or device worn by a noble or his retain ers; an impresa. = The beautiful motto which formed the modest imprese of the shield worn by Charles Brandon at his marriage with the king's sister. Lamb, Melancholy of Tailors. His armour and attire of a sea colour, his impress a fish called a sepia. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. Imblazon'd shields, Impresses quaint, caparisons and steeds. Milton, P. L., ix. 35. impress1 (im-pres'), v. [< ME. impressen, enprecen, <OF. empresser, impresser,<L. impressus, inpressus, pp. of imprimere, inprimere (> It. imprimere Sp. Pg. imprimir : = Pr. enpremar = F. imprimer), press into or upon, stick, stamp, or dig into, in, in, upon, premere, press: see press1. Cf. imprint1] I. trans. 1. To press = upon or against; stamp in; mark by pressure; make an impression upon. As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed. Shak., Macbeth, v. 7. He did impress On the green moss his tremulous step. Shelley, Alastor. The cartonnage of Queen Ahmes Nofretari is impressed in parts with a reticulated sexagonal pattern. Harper's Mag., LXV. 192. Hence-2. To affect forcibly, as the mind or some one of its faculties; produce a mental effect upon as, to impress the memory or imagination; the matter impressed him favorably. : Raz'd out my impress, leaving me no sign, Save men's opinions and my living blood. Shak., Rich. II., iii. 1. They [angels] were the lieutenants of God, sent with the impresses of his majesty. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 899. Every day our garments become more assimilated to ourselves, receiving the impress of the wearer's character. Thoreau, Walden, p. 25. 2+. Semblance; appearance. Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), 1096. impress2 (im-pres'), v. t. [An alteration, in simulation of impress1, of imprest2 (as press2, pret. prest2): see imprest2.] 1. To compel to enter into public service, as seamen; take into service by compulsion, as nurses during an epi demic. About a year after, being impressed to go against the Pequods, he gave ill speeches, for which the governour sent warrant for him. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 289. impressionability stereotyped plate or block, or from an assemblage of them. He can also print wonderful counterproofs from the original impressions. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 335. 4. The aggregate of copies of a printed work made at one time. He did, upon my declaring my value of it, give me one of Lilly's grammars of a very old impression, as it was in the Catholique times, at which I shall much set by. Pepys, Diary, II. 216. 5. An image; an appearance in the mind caused by something external to it. [This is the earliest philosophical use of the word, and is a translation of the Stoic ring.] Hence our desires, feares, hopes, love, hate, and sorrow, H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 75. Turner's advice was to paint your impressions," but he meant by impressions something very different from the impressions of the modern impressionists. The Portfolio, No. 228, p. 232. 6. The first and immediate effect upon the mind in outward or inward perception; sensation: as, the impressions made on the sense of touch. [This precise use of the word was introduced by Hume.] All perceptions of the human mind resolve themselves into two distinct kinds, which I shall call impressions and ideas. The difference betwixt these consists in the degrees of force and liveliness with which they strike upon 2. To seize; take for public use: as, to impress the mind, and make their way into our thought or conprovisions. The second five thousand pounds impressed for the service of the sick and wounded prisoners. Evelyn. impress2 (im-pres'), n. [< impress2, v.] pressment. Im Your ships are not well mann'd; Your mariners are muliters, reapers, people Ingross'd by swift impress. Shak., A. and C., iii. 7. They complain of these impresses and rates as an unsupportable grievance. Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 353. impress3t, n. See imprese. impressed (im-prest'), p. a. In zool. and bot.: (a) Lower than the general surface, and ap, pearing as if stamped into it: as, an impressed line or dot. (b) Ĥaving one or more impressions. impress-gangt (im-pres' gang), n. gang. A press [<im impressibility (im-pres-i-bil'i-ti), n. pressible: see -bility.] The quality of being impressible. They [blue eyes] are sure signs of a tender impressibility and sympathysing disposition. Philos. Letters on Physiognomy, p. 229. Increased impressibility by an external stimulus requires an increased peripheral expansion of the nervous system on which the stimulus may fall. H. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., § 295. impressible (im-pres'i-bl), a. [= F. impressible Pg. impressivel; as impress1 + -ible.] Capable of being impressed; susceptible of receiving impression. Without doubt an heightened and obstinate fancy hath a great influence upon impressible spirits. Glanville, Witchcraft, p. 36, § 7. The Bushman is impressible by changes in the field of view which do not impress the European. H. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., § 80. 3. To produce or fix by pressure, or as if by impressibly (im-pres'i-bli), adv. In an impressure; make an impression of; imprint, lit-pressible manner. erally or figuratively: as, to impress figures on impression (im-presh'on), n. [< ME. imprescoins or plate; to impress an image on the mem- sioun, OF. (also F.) impression Pr. empressio Sp. impresion Pg. impressão = It. impressione, L. impressio(n-), inpressio(n-), a pressing into, impression, assault, imprimere, inprimere, pp. impressus, inpressus, press in or into: see impress1.] 1. The act of impressing, imprinting, or stamping, or the state of being impressed or stamped. There is impressed upon all things a triple desire or appetite proceeding from love to themselves. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 273. In proportion as an incident force impresses but little motion on a mass, it is better able to impress motion on parts of the mass in relation to each other. H. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., § 9. A self-sustained intellectual might is impressed on every page. Whipple, Essays, I. 177. Hence-4. To stamp deeply on the mind; fix by inculcation. But nothing might relent her hasty flight, We should... impress the motives of persuasion upon our own hearts until we feel the force of them. Watts. To keep man in the planet, she [Nature] impresses the terror of death. Emerson, Old Age. Impressed forces. See force1, 8 (a). And the divine impression of stol'n kisses, That seal'd the rest, should now prove empty blisses? Donne, Expostulation (ed. 1819). 2. That which is impressed, imprinted, or stamped; a mark made by or as if by pressure; a stamp; an impress. An unlick'd bear-whelp, That carries no impression like the dam. Shak., 3 Hen. VI., iii. 2. Honours, like an impression upon coin, may give an ideal Sterne, Tristram Shandy, Ded. to a Great Man. He took off an impression of the lock and key, and had a key made. Mrs. Riddell, City and Suburb, p. 463. and local value to a bit of base metal. II. intrans. To be stamped or impressed; fix Specifically-3. In printing, a copy taken by pressure from type, or from an engraved or itself. sciousness. Those perceptions which enter with most force and violence we may name impressions; and under this name I comprehend all our sensations, passions, and emotions, as they make their first appearance in the soul. Hume, Human Nature, I. § 1. A fresh condition of the brain is an important element in the retention of impressions. J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 231. Mere impressions are isolated and unconnected. They have no relation to each other, and hence no relation to any object more permanent than themselves. E. Caird, Philos. of Kant, p. 199. 7. Effect, especially strong effect, produced on the intellect, conscience, or feelings; the sensible result of an influence exerted from without. your favour to me as they might serve to spread over all Sir, I have so many and so indellible impressions of my poor race. Donne, Letters, liii. We speak of moral impressions, religious impressions, impressions of sublimity and beauty. Fleming, Vocab. of Philos. He [Thoreau] was forever talking of getting away from the world, but he must be always near enough to it. .. to feel the impression he makes there. Lowell, Study Windows, p. 204. 8. A notion, remembrance, or belief, especially one that is somewhat indistinct or vague. Whatever be the common impressions on the point, there are singular facilities in England for the cultivation of Roman law. Maine, Village Communities, p. 378. My impression is that they are the buildings Fa Hian describes as preaching halls-the chaitya or ceremonial halls attached to the great dagobas. J. Fergusson, Hist. Indian Arch., p. 198. 9. That which is impressed; a thing producing a mental image. The Pont du Gard [at Nimes] is one of the three or four deepest impressions they [the Romans] have left; it speaks of them in a manner with which they might have been satisfied. H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 171. 10+. Impressing force or power. Universal gravitation is above all mechanism, and proceeds from a divine energy and impression. Bentley. 11. In painting: (a) The first coat, or ground color, laid on to receive the other colors. (b) A single coat or stratum of color laid upon a wall or wainscot of an apartment for ornament, or upon timber to preserve it from moisture, or upon metals to keep them from rusting. short line, or small space on a surface. -12. In zool., an impressed or sunken dot, Say. The head has a lunate impression on each side. Action of the first impression, an action which has no known precedent; a case presented for adjudication which, being brought on a state of facts such as have not previously given rise to actions, must be determined on general principles.-Colic impression, an impression on the under surface of the liver, marking the hepatic flexure of the colon-Confluent, digital, muscular, etc., impressions. See the adjectives.- Renal impression, an impression on the under surface of the liver, caused by the right kidney. impressionability (im-presh"on-a-bil'i-ti), n. impressionable: see -bility.] The quality of being impressionable; susceptibility to impressions; great sensibility. Our difference of wit appears to be only a difference of impressionability, or power to appreciate faint, fainter, and infinitely faintest voices and visions. Emerson, Success. imprescribable imprescribable (im-pre-skri'ba-bl), a. [<in-3 +prescribable.] Same as imprescriptible. The ownership of land was by the law of the islands [Orkney] reserved to the descendants of the original occupant, by an inalienable and imprescribable entail. Westminster Rev., CXXVIII. 688. imprescriptibility (im-pre-skrip-ti-bil'i-ti), n. [= F. imprescriptibilité = Pg. imprescriptibilidade; as imprescriptible + -ity: see -bility.] The character of being imprescriptible. The Pontifical letters of Gregory XIII., in 1580, by which the rights and dues belonging to the State were recalled to vigour, and their imprescriptibility established. Ure, Dict., IV. 859. = imprescriptible (im-pre-skrip ́ti-bl), a. [= F. Brady went back to the primary sources of our history, and endeavoured to show that Magna Charta, as well as every other constitutional law, were but rebellious encroachments on the ancient uncontrollable imprescripti ble prerogatives of the monarchy. Hallam. The award of the tribunal of posterity is a severe deci- imprescriptibly (im-pre-skrip'ti-bli), adv. In The beautiful motto which formed the modest imprese of the shield worn by Charles Brandon at his marriage with the king's sister. Lamb, Melancholy of Tailors. His armour and attire of a sea colour, his impress a fish called a sepia, Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. Imblazon'd shields, Impresses quaint, caparisons and steeds. Milton, P. L., ix. 85. impress1 (im-pres′), v. [< ME. impressen, enprecen,< OF. empresser,impresser,< L. impressus, inpressus, pp. of imprimere, inprimere (> It. imprimere Sp. Pg. imprimir Pr. enpremar = F. imprimer), press into or upon, stick, stamp, or dig into, in, in, upon, premere, press: see pressi. Cf. imprint.] I. trans. 1. To press upon or against; stamp in; mark by pressure; make an impression upon. = Raz'd out my impress, leaving me no sign, Semblance; appearance. Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), i. 1096. impress2 (im-pres'), v. t. [An alteration, in demic. About a year after, being impressed to go against the Pequods, he gave ill speeches, for which the governour sent warrant for him. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 289. impressionability stereotyped plate or block, or from an assemblage of them. He can also print wonderful counterproofs from the original impressions. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 335. 4. The aggregate of copies of a printed work made at one time. He did, upon my declaring my value of it, give me one of Lilly's grammars of a very old impression, as it was in the Catholique times, at which I shall much set by. Pepys, Diary, II. 216. 5. Animage; an appearance in the mind caused Hence our desires, feares, hopes, love, hate, and sorrow, H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 75. All perceptions of the human mind resolve themselves into two distinct kinds, which I shall call impressions and ideas. The difference betwixt these consists in the degrees of force and liveliness with which they strike upon 2. To seize; take for public use: as, to impress the mind, and make their way into our thought or conprovisions. The second five thousand pounds impressed for the ser- vice of the sick and wounded prisoners. impressed (im-prest'), p. a. In zool. and bot.: gang. They [blue eyes] are sure signs of a tender impressibility impressible (im-pres'i-bl), a. [= F. impressi- Without doubt an heightened and obstinate fancy hath sciousness. Those perceptions which enter with most 7. Effect, especially strong effect, produced on Whatever be the common impressions on the point, there are singular facilities in England for the cultivation of Roman law. Maine, Village Communities, p. 378. My impression is that they are the buildings Fa Hian describes as preaching halls-the chaitya or ceremonial halls attached to the great dagobas. J. Fergusson, Hist. Indian Arch., p. 198. 9. That which is impressed; a thing producing a mental image. The Pont du Gard [at Nimes] is one of the three or four deepest impressions they [the Romans] have left; it speaks of them in a manner with which they might have been satisfied. H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 171. As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed. Shak., Macbeth, v. 7. He did impress On the green moss his tremulous step. Shelley, Alastor. The cartonnage of Queen Ahmes Nofretari is impressed in parts with a reticulated sexagonal pattern. Harper's Mag., LXV. 192. Hence-2. To affect forcibly, as the mind or some one of its faculties; produce a mental effect upon as, to impress the memory or imagination; the matter impressed him favorably. Nothing impresses the traveller more, on visiting the once imperial city, than the long lines of aqueducts that are seen everywhere stretching across the now deserted impressibleness (im-pres ́i-bl-nes), n. Impres- 10+. Impressing force or power. plain of the Campagna. J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 373. sibility. In an im3. To produce or fix by pressure, or as if by impressibly (im-pres'i-bli), adv. pressure; make an impression of; imprint, lit-pressible manner. erally or figuratively: as, to impress figures on impression (im-presh'on), n. [< ME. imprescoins or plate; to impress an image on the mem- sioun, OF. (also F.) impression : Pr. empresSp. impresion = Pg, impressão - It. impressione, L. impressio(n-), inpressio(n-), a pressing into, impression, assault, imprimere, inprimere, pp. impressus, inpressus, press in or into: see impress1.] 1. The act of impressing, imprinting, or stamping, or the state of being impressed or stamped. ory. There is impressed upon all things a triple desire or appetite proceeding from love to themselves. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 273. In proportion as an incident force impresses but little But nothing might relent her hasty flight, We should... impress the motives of persuasion upon our own hearts until we feel the force of them. Watts. To keep man in the planet, she [Nature] impresses the terror of death. Emerson, Old Age, Impressed forces. See forcel, 8 (a). And the divine impression of stol'n kisses, An unlick'd bear-whelp, and local value to a bit of base metal. He took off an impression of the lock and key, and had II.t intrans. To be stamped or impressed; fix Specifically-3. In printing, a copy taken by pressure from type, or from an engraved or itself. Universal gravitation is above all mechanism, and proceeds from a divine energy and impression. Bentley. 11. In painting: (a) The first coat, or ground color, laid on to receive the other colors. (b) A single coat or stratum of color laid upon a wall or wainscot of an apartment for ornament, or upon timber to preserve it from moisture, or upon metals to keep them from rusting. -12. In zool., an impressed or sunken dot, short line, or small space on a surface. Say. The head has a lunate impression on each side. Action of the first impression, an action which has no known precedent; a case presented for adjudication which, being brought on a state of facts such as have not previously given rise to actions, must be determined on general principles. Colic impression, an impression on the under surface of the liver, marking the hepatic flexure of the colon.-Confluent, digital, muscular, etc., impressions. See the adjectives.-Renal impression, an impression on the under surface of the liver, caused by the right kidney. impressionability (im-presh'on-a-bil′i-ti), n. impressionable: see -bility.] The quality of being impressionable; susceptibility to impressions; great sensibility. Our difference of wit appears to be only a difference of and infinitely faintest voices and visions. impressionability, or power to appreciate faint, fainter, Emerson, Success. impressionable impressionable (im-presh'on-a-bl), a. [= F. impressionnable; as impression + -able.] Susceptible of impression; capable of receiving impressions; emotional. seuses. able. The only special impressionable organs for the direction of their actions. W. B. Carpenter, Micros., § 437. Here was this princess paying to him such attentions as must have driven a more impressionable man out of his W. Black, Princess of Thule, p. 32. The public is like a child, as simple and as impression Nineteenth Century, XX. 420. impressionableness (im-presh'on-a-bl-nes), n. Impressionability. Imp. Dict. "[Rare.] impressional (im-presh'on-al), a. [<impression +-al.] Relating or pertaining to impression; conformable to or guided by impressions or immediate or momentary effects on the mind: as, the impressional school of art or of literature. The resemblance, after all, could scarcely be called physical, and I am loath to borrow the word impressional from the vocabulary of spirit mediums. Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past, p. 279. impressionalist (im-presh'on-al-ist), n. [<impressional + -ist.] Same as impressionist. As there is no limit to the number of our impressions, so there is no end to the descriptive efforts of the impressionalists. The Nation, Sept. 14, 1876, p. 163. impressionary (im-presh'on-a-ri), a. [<impression +-ary.] Same as impressionistic. Art Journal, No. 53, p. 140. impression-cup (im-presh'on-kup), n. A metallic holder for the wax used to obtain an impression of the teeth in making artificial teeth. Also called impression-tray. impressionism (im-presh'on-izm), n. [<impression + -ism.] In art and lit., the doctrines and methods of the impressionists; the doctrine that natural objects should be painted or described as they first strike the eye in their immediate and momentary effects-that is, without selection, or artificial combination or elaboration. tail. That aim at tone and effect, and nothing more, which is merely the rebound from photographic detail into the opposite extreme of fleeting and shadowy Impressionism. F. T. Palgrave, Nineteenth Century, XXIII. 88. Impressionism implies, first of all, impatience of deThe Century, XVIII. 482. impressionist (im-presh'on-ist), n. [= F. impressioniste; as impression + -ist.]. One who yields to the influence of impressions, as in descriptive writing; specifically, a painter who aims to reproduce his immediate and momentary impressions of natural objects; one who attempts to render only the larger facts of mass, color, and effect, without regard to exactness of form or completeness of detail and finish. to carry the theory out in Some artists say, "We do not paint truth of fact, but truth of impression.". The modern French sect of Impressionistes have tried practice. P. G. Hamerton, Graphic Arts, p. 30. impressionistic (im-presh-on-is'tik), a. [<impressionistic.] Of or pertaining to the impressionists; characterized by impressionism. We have frequently found English critics speaking of any French work not belonging to the classical school as impressionistic. Saturday Rev., No. 1474. impressionless (im-presh'on-les), a. [< impression + -less.] Without impression or effect; unimpressible. impression-tray (im-presh'on-trā), n. Same as impression-cup. impressive (im-pres′iv), a. [= Pg. It. impressivo; as impress1 + -ive.] 1. Making or tending to make an impression; having the power of affecting or of exciting attention and feeling; adapted to touch the feelings or the conscience: as, an impressive discourse; an impressive scene. In modern times, princes raise their soldiers by con- You have those conveniences for a great imprimerie scription, their sailors by impressment. which other universities cannot boast of. Everett, Orations, I. 124. Lord Arlington, To Oxford University. impressor (im-pres'or), n. [= OF. empressor, 3. A print; an impression. E. Phillips, 1706. impresseur, ML. impressor, one who presses imprimingt, n. [<`L. in, in, + primus, first, + upon or prints, NL. a printer, typographer, < L. E. -ing1. Cf. imprimis.] First action or motion. One who or that which impresses. imprimere, pp. impressus, press: see impress1.] And these were both their springings and imprimings, as I may call them. Sir H. Wotton, Reliquiæ, p. 104. imprimis (im-pri'mis), adv. [L., also inprimis, and prop. as two words, in primis, lit. in the first, among the first things: in, in; primis, abl. neut. pl. of primus, first: see prime.] In the first place; first in order: a word introducing a series of specified particulars, as in the beginning of a will. It is the first rule that whatever is not offered to the memory upon very easy terms is not duly tendered. For fancy is the receiver and impressor, Boyle, Works, VI. 333. impressuret (im-presh'ūr), n. [<impress1 + ure.] A mark made by pressure; indentation; impression; stamp; dent. I knew not what fair impressure (in old editions impres sier] I received at first; but I began to affect your society very speedily. Middleton, Michaelmas Term, ii. 1. The impressure her Lucrece, with which she uses to seal. Shak., T. N., ii. 5. imprest1 (im-prest'). A former and still occasional spelling of impressed, preterit and past participle of impress1. imprest2 (im-prest'), v. t. [< in-2 + prest2. Hence impress2.] To advance on loan. [Eng.] sury. Nearly £90,000 was set under the suspicious head of secret service, imprested to Mr. Guy, secretary of the treaHallam. imprest2 (im'prest), n. [<imprest2, v.] A form of loan; money advanced. See the extract. [Eng.] Moreover, sometimes the King's money was issued by Way of Prest, or Imprest de præstito, either out of the Receipt of Exchequer, the Wardrobe, or some other of the King's Treasuries. Imprest seems to have been of the Nature of a concreditum, or accommodatum. And when a man had money imprested to him, he immediately became accountable to the Crown for the same. Madox, quoted in N. and Q., 7th ser., I. 253. Imprest accountant. See the extract. In-primis, Grand, you owe me for a jest I lent you, on meere acquaintance, at a feast. B. Jonson, Epigrams, lxxiii. imprint (im'print), n. [Formerly emprint, < OF. empreinte (F. empreinte = Pr. emprenta = Sp. It. imprenta), impression, stamp, mark, < empreint, pp. of empreindre, F. empreindre = Pr. enpremar = Sp. Pg. imprimir It. imprimere, impress, imprint, L. imprimere, inprimere, press upon, impress, NL. print: see impress1, and cf. print.] 1. An impression made by printing or stamping; hence, any impression or impressed effect. == Though a hundred and fifty years have elapsed since their supremacy began to wane, the imprint of their hands is everywhere discernible. Buckle, Hist. Civilization, II. v. 2. The publisher's name, place, and date (if given) in a book or other publication, on the title-page or elsewhere (originally often at the end of a book); also, the printer's name and address: called respectively the publisher's and the printer's imprint. An "imprest" means an advance of public money, to But Pedro Venegas de Saavedra was a Sevilian gentleenable the person to whom it may be made to carry on man, and Antonio hints that the imprint of the volume some public service; and the person to whom the advance may not show the true place of its publication. is made is called the imprest accountant. Ticknor, Span. Lit., III. 29. Ure, Dict., II. 888. imprint (im-print'), v. t. [Formerly also emImprest money, money paid on enlisting soldiers; also, money advanced by the crown for the purpose of being print, enprint; late ME. emprinten, enprinten; employed for its use. [Eng.)-Imprest office, a depart? OF. empreinter, emprainter, stamp, engrave; ment of the admiralty which provides for loans or ad- from the noun: see imprint, n. In E. the noun imprevalence, imprevalency (im-prev'a-lens, v.] 1. To impress by printing or stamping; vances to paymasters and other officers. [Eng.], is rather from the verb. Cf. impress1 and print, capability of prevailing; want of prevalence. device imprinted on wax or metal. -len-si), n. (< in-3 + prevalence, -cy.] "In- mark by pressure; stamp: as, a character or [Rare.] lasting love, he proves it by induction of the most powerThat nothing can separate God's elect from his everful agents, and triumphs in the impotence and imprevalence of them all. Bp. Hall, Remains, p. 276. impreventability (im-pre-ven-ta-bil'i-ti), n. [< impreventable: see-bility.] The state or quality of being impreventable. Imp. Dict. impreventable (im-pre-ven'ta-bl), a. [< in-3 +preventable.] Not preventable; incapable of imprevisibility (im- pre-viz-i-bil'i-ti), n. [ being prevented; inevitable. Imp. Dict. imprevisible: see -bility.] The quality of being imprevisible or unforeseeable. The notion of imprevisibility. imprevisible (im-pre-viz'i-bl), a. previsible.] That cannot be foreseen. Mind, XII. 622. [<in-3 + It must be allowed that the whole conception of which these strictly imprevisible acts form part can not be scientifically disproved. T. Whittaker, Mind, XIII. 119. imprevision (im-pre-vizh'on), n. [= F. imprévision = Pg. imprevisão; as in-3 + prevision.] Lack of foresight; carelessness with regard to the future; improvidence. The whole realm of beggary and imprevision will make a hitch forward. The Century, XXVI. 825. imprimatur (im-pri-mā'tér). [L. (NL.), 3d pers. sing. pres. subj. pass. of imprimere, press dered more impressive the monumental silence of the pile upon, NL. print: see impress1, print.] 1. Let it be printed: a formula signed by an official licenser of the press and attached to the matter so authorized to be printed.-2. n. A license to print, granted by the licenser of the press; hence, a license in general. The faint sound of music and merriment . . . but renwhich overshadowed me. Irving, Alhambra, p. 84. Few scenes of architectural grandeur are more impressive than the now ruined Palace of the Cæsars. J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 364. 2. Capable of being impressed; susceptible; impressible. [Rare.] A soft and impressive fancy. The char J. Spencer, Prodigies, p. 75. =Syn. 1. Moving, stirring, affecting, touching, powerful. impressively (im-pres'iv-li), adv. In an impressive manner; forcibly. impressiveness (im-pres'iv-nes), n. acter or quality of being impressive. impressment (im-pres'ment), n. [<impress2+ -ment.] The act of impressing; the act of seizing for public use, or of compelling to enter the public service; compulsion to serve: as, They cut off the noses of men, and imprinted pictures in the flesh of women, whom they ouercame. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 396. 2. To stamp, as letters and words on paper, by means of inked types; print. Enprynted by Wylliam Caxton at Westmestre. Colophon of Caxton's Quatuor Sermones. Howbeit, two feats they may thank us for. That is the science of imprinting, and the craft of making paper. Sir T. More, Utopia, ii. 6. wherein nothing is and yet all things may be imprinted we are to search by what steps and degrees it riseth unto The soul of man being therefore at the first as a book, perfection of knowledge. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, i. 6. 3. To impress, as on the mind or memory; stamp. [Some] haue with long and often thinking theron imprinted that feare so sore in theyr ymaginacion that some of them haue not after cast it of without greate difficultie. Sir T. More, Works, p. 1197. It seeming to me near a contradiction to say that there are truths imprinted on the soul which it perceives or understands not; imprinting, if it signify anything, being nothing else than the making certain truths to be per ceived. Locke, Human Understanding, I. ii. 5. imprison (im-priz'n), v. t. [Formerly emprison; ME. imprisonen, < OF. emprisonner (F. emprisonner = Pr. empreisonar = Ít. imprigionare), 1. To put into a prison; confine in a prison or imprison, en- + prison, prison: see prison.] jail; detain in custody. The Kynge, foryetyng his royalle honeste, toke this Geffray, and imprisoned him. Rob. of Gloucester, p. 464, note. When a debt is ordered to be paid by instalments, nonpayment of any instalment constitutes a default for which the debtor may be imprisoned. Fortnightly Rev., N. S., XLIII. 338. 2. To confine, limit, or restrain in any way or by any means. As if the learned grammatical pen that wrote it would cast no ink without Latin; or perhaps, as they thought, because no vulgar tongue was worthy to express the pure conceit of an imprimatur. Milton, Areopagitica. As if a lettered dunce had said ""Tis right," Sad Esculapius far apart And imprimatur ushered it to light. Emprisond was in chaines remedilesse. Young, Satires, vii. Spenser, F. Q., I. v. 36. imprimet, v. i. [< in-2 + prime.] To unharThey haue much gold, but hold it an high offence to imbor the hart. Halliwell. prison it, as some do with vs, in Chests or Treasuries. imprimeryt (im-prim ́ér-i), n. [‹ F. imprimerie, Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 429. printing, a printing-office or printing-house, Try to imprison the resistless wind. Dryden. imprimer, print, press: see imprint, impress1.] Syn. 1. To incarcerate, immure. imprisonment (im-priz'n-ment), n. [= F. em- Daniel, To H. Wriothesly. All his sinews woxen weake and raw Spenser, F. Q., I. x. 2. Constructive imprisonment, such a restraint upon personal liberty, though without actual imprisonment within walls, as the law may treat as equivalent to actual imprisonment for the purpose of giving redress.-Duress of imprisonment. See duress.-False imprisonment, any imprisonment which is without lawful authority. =Syn. Incarceration, etc. (see captivity); custody, duress, durance. It is a meere improbability, yea and an impossibility, that this should be the true Serpent. Coryat, Crudities, I. 115. improbable (im-prob'a-bl), a. [=F. improbable Sp. improbable = Pg. improvavel = It. improbabile, not probable, L. improbabilis, inprobabilis, not deserving of approval, < in- priv. + probabilis, deserving of approval: see probable.] Not probable; not likely to be true; not to be expected under the circumstances of the case. If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction. Shak., T. N., iii. 4. When two armies fight, it is not improbable that one of them will be very soundly beaten. Macaulay, Sir William Temple. improbably (im-prob'a-bli), adv. In an improbable manner; without probability. Dioneth, an imaginary king of Britain, or duke of Cornwall, who improbably sided with them against his own country, hardly escaping. Milton, Hist. Eng., iii. A few years more may, not improbably, leave him [Gibbon] without one admirer. Bp. Hurd, On the Prophecies, App. improbate (im'pro-bāt), v. t.; pret. and pp. improbated, ppr. improbating. [L. improbatus, inprobatus, pp. of improbare, inprobare (ult. E. improves, q. v.), disapprove, in- priv. + probare, approve: see prove. Cf. approbate, reprobate.] To disallow; refuse to approve. Bailey. [Rare.] improbation (im-pro-bā'shọn), n. [=F. improbation = Pg. improvação, L. improbatio(n-), inprobatio(n-), disapproval, improbare, inprobare, disapprove: see improbate.] 1t. The act of disallowing; disapproval. Bailey.-2. In Scots law, the act by which falsehood or forgery is proved; an action brought for the purpose of having some instrument declared false or forged. improbative (im-prob'a-tiv), a. [= F. improbatif It. improbativo; as improbate +-ive. Dis proving or disapproving; tending to disprove; containing or expressing disproof or disapproval. [Rare.] = "The form or mode of treatment," he [Dante] says, "is poetic, fictive, . probative, improbative, and positive of examples." Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 44. improbatory (im-prob ́a-to-ri), a. [<improbate +-ory.] In Scots law, same as improbative. improbity (im-prob'i-ti), n. [= F. improbité Pg. improbidade Ït. improbità, < L. improbita(t-)s, inprobita (t-)s, badness, dishonesty, <improbus, inprobus, bad, in- priv. + probus, good: see probity.] Lack of probity; want of integrity or rectitude of principle; dishonesty. = Nor yet dissembling the great abuse whereunto this [the custom of processions] had grown by men's imHooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 41. probity and malice. improficience (im-pro-fish'ens), n. [< in-3 + proficience.] Same as improficiency. But this misplacing hath caused a deficience, or at least a great improficience, in the sciences themselves. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. improficiency (im-pro-fish'en-si), n. [<in-3 + proficiency.] Lack of proficiency. 3020 Perceyuynge the improfytable weedes appering which Cathedral cities in England, imperial cities without man- improgressively (im-pro-gres'iv-li), adv. Un- [This] may be a mean to improlificate the seed. improminent (im-prom'i-nent), a. [<in-3 + impropriation Good Friday are substituted for the usual mass of the Roman ritual. They are sung according to the revision of Palestrina in 1560 only in the Sistine Chapel at Rome, but to other plain-chant melodies in England and some parts of the continent of Europe. improperly (im-prop'er-li), adv. [< ME. improperlich; improper1 + -ly2.] In an improper manner; not fitly; unsuitably; incongruously: as, to speak or write improperly.-Improperly equivalent, in the theory of numbers, said of two forms either of which can be converted into the other by a transformation the determinant of which is equal to negative unity. improperty+ (im-prop ́èr-ti), n. [< improper1 +-ty, after property. Cf. impropriety.] ́ ̄Impropriety. improperyt, ". [< OF. improperie, also impropere, LL. improperium, inproperium, reproach, L. improperare, inproperare, reproach, appar. a corruption of improbrare, reproach, cast upon as a reproach, in, on, + probrum, a reproach.] Reproach. Sara, the daughter of Raguel, desiring to be delivered of a certain default wherewith one of her father's hand from the impropery and imbraiding, as it would appear, maidens did imbraid her and cast her in the teeth, forsook all company. Becon, Works, I. 131. impropitioust (im-pro-pish'us), a. [< in-3 + Nothing, I think, in nature, can be supposed more terrible than such a rencounter, so imprompt! so ill-prepared to stand the shock of it as Dr. Slop was. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ii. 9. impromptu (im-prompʼtū), adv. [< L. in promptu, in readiness: in, in; promptu, abl. of promptus, readiness, promptus, ready: see prompt.] Offhand; without previous study or preparation: as, a verse written impromptu. impromptu (im-promp'tu), a. and n. [F. im- good and desert the greater, merely out of the improporpromptu, n.; impromptu, adv.] I. a. Prompt; offhand; extempore; extemporized for the occasion: as, an impromptu epigram. He made multitudes of impromptu acquaintances. G. A. Sala, Make your Game, p. 213. II. n. 1. Something said or written, played, etc., at the moment, or without previous study tion or performance. or preparation; an extemporaneous composi These [verses] were made extempore, and were, as the French call them, impromptus. = Dryden. 2. In music: (a) An extemporized composition; an improvisation. (b) A composition in irregular form, as if extemporized; a fantasia. improper1 (im-prop ́èr), a. <ME. improper, OF. and F. impropre Pr. impropri = Sp. impropio, improprio Pg. improprio It. impropio, improprio, < L. improprius, inproprius, not proper, <in- priv. + proprius, proper: see proper. 1t. Not proper or peculiar to any individual; general; common. They are not to be adorned with any art but such im- The banish'd Kent, who in disguise 3. Not proper in form or method; not accord- He disappear'd, was rarify'd; Dryden. And to their proper operation still ate. Man is impropred to God for two causes. Bp. Fisher, Works, p. 267. Improper and inclose the sunbeams to comfort the rich and not the poor. Bp. Jewell, Works, II. 671. improperation+ (im-prop-e-ra'shon), n. [< L. as if improperatio(n-), < "improperare, inproperare, pp. improperatus, inproperatus, reproach, taunt, appar. for improbrare, < in, in, on, + probrum, a disgrace.] A reproach; a taunt. Omitting these improperations and terms of scurrility. Sir T. Browne. Boyle, Works, I. 35. improperia (im-prō-pē ́ri-ä), n. pl. [ML., pl. of improfitablet (im-prof'i-ta-bl), a. [= F. im- LL. improperium, inproperium, a reproach: see profitable; as in-3+ profitable.] Unprofitable. impropery.] Antiphons and responses which on For my part, the excellency of the Ministry, since waited on by such an improficiency, increases my presaging fears of the approaching misery of the people. If a man be inclined to a lesser good more than to a greater, he will, in action, betake himself to the lesser tion of the two inclinations or judgments to their objects. Sir K. Digby, Nature of Man's Soul, xi. improportionablet (im-pro-pōr'shon-a-bl), a. [ML. improportionabilis, L. in- priv. + LL. proportionabilis, proportionable: see proportionable.] Not proportionable. I am a rhinoceros if I had thought a creature of her symmetry could have dar'd so improportionable and abrupt a digression. B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, i. 3. improportionatet (im-pro-pōr'shon-āt), a. [= Sp. Pg. improporcionado = It. improporzionato; as in-3 + proportionate.] Not proportionate; not adjusted. The cavity is improportionate to the head. J. Smith, Portrait of Old Age, p. 59. impropriate (im-prō'pri-at), v.; pret. and pp. impropriated, ppr. impropriating. [< ML. impropriatus, pp. of impropriare, take as one's own, L. in, in, to, + proprius, own: see propproper2.] 1. trans. 1. To appropriate for one's Cf. appropriate, expropriate. Cf. also imown or other private use; appropriate. er. For the pardon of the rest, the king thought it not fit it should pass by parliament: the better, being matter of grace, to impropriate the thanks to himself. Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII. Well may men of eminent guifts set forth as many forms and helps to praier as they please, but to impose them upon Ministers lawfully call'd, and sufficiently tri'd, as all ought to be, ere they be admitted, is a supercilious tyranny, impropriating the Spirit of God to themselves. Milton, On Def. of Humb. Remonst. 2. In Eng. eccles. law, to place in the hands of a layman, for care and disbursement, the profits or revenue of; devolve upon a layman or lay corporation. Impropriating the liuing of the Altar to them that liued not at the Altar. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 130. II. intrans. To practise impropriation; become an impropriator. Let the husband and wife infinitely avoid a curious distinction of mine and thine. . . . When either of them begins to impropriate, it is like a tumor in the flesh, it draws more than its share. Jer. Taylor, The Marriage Ring (Sermon on Eph. v. 32, 33). impropriate (im-prō'pri-at), a. [< ML. impropriatus, pp.: see the verb.] 1t. Appropriated to private use. Man gathered [the general mercies of God] . . . into single handfuls, and made them impropriate. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 904. 2. In Eng. eccles. law, devolved into the hands of a layman. Many of these impropriate Tithes are . . . the spoils of dissolved Monasteries. Bp. Chr. Wordsworth, Church of Ireland, p. 280. [= Pg. impropriation (im-pro-pri-ā ́shọn), n. impropriação, ML. impropriatio(n-), < impropriare, take as one's own: see impropriate, v.] 1t. The act of appropriating to private use; exclusive possession or assumption. The Gnosticks had, as they deemed, the impropriation of all divine knowledge. Loe, Blisse of Brightest Beauty (1614), p. 29. |