imp

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive)To engraft or plant (a plant or part of one, a sapling, etc.).
2. (archaic, figuratively, transitive)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.”

3. (transitive)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.”

   “Bird rehabilitators borrow a trick from falconry with the age-old process of imping flight feathers on to a damaged bird.”

   “[page 246, column 1] Feather damage is a serious problem for any bird. […] Repairing or imping broken feathers is a very good option in these cases and may save months or even a year in captivity. […] [page 250, column 1] Note that a feather can usually only be imped once since it is very difficult or impossible to remove and then replace an imping needle from within a feather shaft after it has been glued in place.”

4. (broadly, figuratively, transitive)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.”

5. (broadly, transitive)To add to or unite an object with (something) to lengthen the latter out or repair it; to eke out, enlarge, strengthen.

noun

1. (transitive)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."”

   “It was as if there were little imps dancing in my mouth, and every so often, when a situation arose, they'd get together, giggle wickedly, and try to push words out of my open mouth.”

2. (broadly, humorous, often, transitive)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; […]”

   “[…] I've left my young children to look after themselves, and a more mischievous and troublesome set of young imps doesn't exist, ma'am; […]”

3. (broadly, transitive)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.)”

   “Although this devil was new to her – he was at the neck of the peninsula, which she visited only once a year – she often trapped the same devils dozens of times over the years, watching them grow from tiny imps in their mothers’ pouches to the grizzled old age of about 5.”

   “Siberian Tigers vs. Tasmanian Devils […] Tasmanian devils are marsupials, mammals with pouches. Females give birth to tiny, undeveloped babies called imps. About twenty to thirty imps are born at one time. The imps race to survive. They crawl about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) to their mother's pouch. The first few to arrive attach themselves to the mother's four nipples. Only these four imps survive.”

4. (British, broadly, colloquial, transitive)A supporter (or less commonly, a player) of the Lincoln City Football Club.
5. (obsolete, transitive)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.”

   “[Atheists and Epicures,] ſeeke they not by all meanes poſſible too weede all Religion, all feare of GOD, all remorſe of conſcience out of mennes harts? Out of theſe rootes ſpring other impes, no leſſe perniciouſe than the ſtockes of whiche they come: […]”

6. (obsolete, transitive)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: […]”

   “[B]efore / The tender impe was wained from the teat, / The Princess Maud him tooke, in vertues lore / She brought him vp, […]”

7. (British, dialectal, obsolete, transitive)Something added to or united with another to lengthen it out or repair it (such as an eke or small stand on which a beehive is placed, or a length of twisted hair in a fishing line).
8. (slang, transitive)Synonym of god (“person who owns and runs a multi-user dungeon”).
9. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of inosine monophosphate.
10. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of integral membrane protein.
11. (Canada, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of individual meal package.