imping


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imp

 (ĭmp)
n.
1. A mischievous child.
2. A small demon.
3. Obsolete A graft.
tr.v. imped, imp·ing, imps
1. To graft (new feathers) onto the wing of a trained falcon or hawk to repair damage or increase flying capacity.
2. To furnish with wings.
[Middle English impe, scion, sprig, offspring, from Old English impa, young shoot, from impian, to graft, ultimately from Medieval Latin impotus, graft, from Greek emphutos, grafted, from emphuein, to implant : en-, in; see en-2 + phuein, to make grow; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.