imp

To engraft or plant (a plant or part of one, a sapling, etc.).obsoletetransitive

To graft or implant (something other than a plant); to fix or set (something) in.archaicfigurativelytransitive

• 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.

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.transitive

• 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.

To provide (someone or something) with wings, hence enabling them or it to soar.broadlyfigurativelytransitive

• 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.

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

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).transitive

• "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.

A mischievous child.broadlyhumorousoften

• 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; […]

A baby Tasmanian devil.broadlytransitive

• 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.)

A supporter (or less commonly, a player) of the Lincoln City Football Club.UKbroadlycolloquial

A young shoot of a plant, a tree, etc.; a sapling; also, a part of a plant used for grafting; a graft.obsoletetransitive

• Þai sett hem doun al þre / Vnder a fair ympetre, / And wel sone þis fair quene / Fel on slepe opon þe grene.

An offspring or scion, especially of a noble family; (generally) a (usually male) child; a (young) man.obsoletetransitive

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

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).UKdialectalobsolete

Synonym of god (“person who owns and runs a multi-user dungeon”).slangtransitive