Import Im"port noun 1. Merchandise imported, or brought into a country from without its boundaries; -- generally in the plural, opposed to exports . I take the imports from, and not the exports to, these conquests, as the measure of these advantages which we derived from them.
Burke. 2. That which a word, phrase, or document contains as its signification or intention or interpretation of a word, action, event, and the like. 3. Importance; weight; consequence. Most serious design, and the great import .
Shak.
Importable Im·port"a·ble adjective [ Confer French
importable . See
Import .]
Capable of being imported.
Importable Im·port"a·ble adjective [ Latin
importabilis ; prefix
im- not +
portabilis bearable: confer Old French
importable . See
Portable .]
Not to be endured; insupportable; intolerable. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. --
Im*port"a*ble*ness ,
noun [ Obsolete]
Importance Im·por"tance noun [ French
importance . See
Important .]
1. The quality or state of being important; consequence; weight; moment; significance. Thy own importance know,
Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.
Pope. 2. Subject; matter. [ Obsolete]
Upon importance of so slight and trivial a nature.
Shak. 3. Import; meaning; significance. [ Obsolete]
The wisest beholder could not say if the importance were joy or sorrow.
Shak. 4. Importunity; solicitation. [ Obsolete]
At our importance hither is he come.
Shak.
Importancy Im·por"tan·cy noun Importance; significance; consequence; that which is important. [ Obsolete]
Shak. "Careful to conceal
importancies ."
Fuller.
Important Im·por"tant adjective [ French
important . See
Import ,
transitive verb ]
1. Full of, or burdened by, import; charged with great interests; restless; anxious. [ Obsolete]
Thou hast strength as much
As serves to execute a mind very important .
Chapman. 2. Carrying or possessing weight or consequence; of valuable content or bearing; significant; weighty. Things small as nothing . . .
He makes important .
Shak. 3. Bearing on; forcible; driving. [ Obsolete]
He fiercely at him flew,
And with important outrage him assailed.
Spenser. 4. Importunate; pressing; urgent. [ Obsolete]
Shak. Syn. -- Weighty; momentous; significant; essential; necessary; considerable; influential; serious.
Importantly Im·por"tant·ly adverb In an important manner.
Importation Im`por·ta"tion noun [ Confer French
importation . See
Import ,
transitive verb ]
1. The act of carrying, conveying, or delivering. [ R.]
2. The act or practice of importing, or bringing into a country or state; -- opposed to exportation . 3. That which is imported; commodities or wares introduced into a country from abroad.
Importer Im·port"er noun One who imports; the merchant who brings goods into a country or state; -- opposed to exporter .
Importing Im·port"ing adjective Full of meaning. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Importless Im·port"less adjective Void of meaning. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Importunable Im·por"tu·na·ble adjective Heavy; insupportable. [ Obsolete]
Sir T. More.
Importunacy Im·por"tu·na·cy noun [ From
Importunate .]
The quality of being importunate; importunateness.
Importunate Im·por"tu·nate adjective [ See
Importune .]
1. Troublesomely urgent; unreasonably solicitous; overpressing in request or demand; urgent; teasing; as, an impotunate petitioner, curiosity. Whewell. 2. Hard to be borne; unendurable. [ R.]
Donne. --
Im*por"tu*nate*ly ,
adverb --
Im*por"tu*nate*ness ,
noun
Importunator Im·por"tu·na`tor noun One who importunes; an importuner. [ Obsolete]
Sir E. Sandys.
Importune Im`por·tune" adjective [ French
importun , Latin
importunus ; prefix
im- not + a derivative from the root of
portus harbor,
importunus therefore orig. meaning, hard of access. See
Port harbor, and confer
Importunate .]
1. Inopportune; unseasonable. [ Obsolete]
2. Troublesome; vexatious; persistent; urgent; hence, vexatious on account of untimely urgency or pertinacious solicitation. [ Obsolete]
And their importune fates all satisfied.
Spenser. Of all other affections it [ envy] is the most importune and continual.
Bacon.
Importune Im`por·tune" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Importuned ;
present participle & verbal noun Importuning .] [ From
Importune ,
adjective : confer French
importuner .]
1. To request or solicit, with urgency; to press with frequent, unreasonable, or troublesome application or pertinacity; hence, to tease; to irritate; to worry. Their ministers and residents here have perpetually importuned the court with unreasonable demands.
Swift. 2. To import; to signify. [ Obsolete] "It
importunes death."
Spenser.
Importune Im`por·tune" intransitive verb To require; to demand. [ Obsolete]
We shall write to you,
As time and our concernings shall importune .
Shak.
Importunely Im`por·tune"ly adverb In an importune manner. [ Obsolete]
Importuner Im`por·tun"er noun One who importunes.
Importunity Im`por·tu"ni·ty noun ;
plural Importunities . [ Latin
importunitas unsuitableness, rudeness: confer French
importunité .]
The quality of being importunate; pressing or pertinacious solicitation; urgent request; incessant or frequent application; troublesome pertinacity. O'ercome with importunity and tears.
Milton.
Importuous Im·por"tu·ous adjective [ Latin
importuosus ; prefix
im- not +
portuosus abounding in harbors, from
portus harbor.]
Without a port or harbor. [ R.]
Imposable Im·pos"a·ble adjective [ Confer French
imposable .]
Capable of being imposed or laid on. Hammond.
Imposableness Im·pos"a·ble·ness noun Quality of being imposable.
Impose Im·pose" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Imposed ;
present participle & verbal noun Imposing .] [ French
imposer ; prefix
im- in +
poser to place. See
Pose ,
transitive verb ]
1. To lay on; to set or place; to put; to deposit. Cakes of salt and barley [ she] did impose
Within a wicker basket.
Chapman. 2. To lay as a charge, burden, tax, duty, obligation, command, penalty, etc.; to enjoin; to levy; to inflict; as, to impose a toll or tribute. What fates impose , that men must needs abide.
Shak. Death is the penalty imposed .
Milton. Thou on the deep imposest nobler laws.
Waller. 3. (Eccl.) To lay on, as the hands, in the religious rites of confirmation and ordination. 4. (Print.) To arrange in proper order on a table of stone or metal and lock up in a chase for printing; -- said of columns or pages of type, forms, etc.
Impose Im·pose" intransitive verb To practice tricks or deception. To impose on or
upon ,
to pass or put a trick on; to delude. "He
imposes on himself, and mistakes words for things."
Locke.
Impose Im·pose" noun A command; injunction. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Imposement Im·pose"ment noun Imposition. [ Obsolete]
Imposer Im·pos"er noun One who imposes. The imposers of these oaths might repent.
Walton.
Imposing Im·pos"ing adjective 1. Laying as a duty; enjoining. 2. Adapted to impress forcibly; impressive; commanding; as, an imposing air; an imposing spectacle. "Large and
imposing edifices."
Bp. Hobart. 3. Deceiving; deluding; misleading.
Imposing Im·pos"ing noun (Print.) The act of imposing the columns of a page, or the pages of a sheet. See Impose , transitive verb , 4. Imposing stone (Print.) ,
the stone on which the pages or columns of types are imposed or made into forms; - - called also imposing table .
Imposingly Im·pos"ing·ly adverb In an imposing manner.
Imposingness Im·pos"ing·ness noun The quality of being imposing.
Imposition Im`po·si"tion noun [ French, from Latin
impositio the application of a name to a thing. See
Impone .]
1. The act of imposing, laying on, affixing, enjoining, inflicting, obtruding, and the like. "From
imposition of strict laws."
Milton. Made more solemn by the imposition of hands.
Hammond. 2. That which is imposed, levied, or enjoined; charge; burden; injunction; tax. 3. (Eng. Univ.) An extra exercise enjoined on students as a punishment. T. Warton. 4. An excessive, arbitrary, or unlawful exaction; hence, a trick or deception put on laid on others; cheating; fraud; delusion; imposture. Reputation is an idle and most false imposition .
Shak. 5. (Eccl.) The act of laying on the hands as a religious ceremoy, in ordination, confirmation, etc. 6. (Print.) The act or process of imosing pages or columns of type. See Impose , transitive verb , 4. Syn. -- Deceit; fraud; imposture. See
Deception .
Impossibility Im·pos`si·bil"i·ty noun ;
plural Impossibilities . [ Latin
impossibilitas : confer French
impossibilité .]
1. The quality of being impossible; impracticability. They confound difficulty with impossibility .
South. 2. An impossible thing; that which can not be thought, done, or endured. Impossibilities ! O, no, there's none.
Cowley. 3. Inability; helplessness. [ R.]
Latimer. Logical impossibility ,
a condition or statement involving contradiction or absurdity; as, that a thing can be and not be at the same time. See Principle of Contradiction , under Contradiction .
Impossible Im·pos"si·ble adjective [ French, from Latin
impossibilis ; prefix
im- not +
possibilis possible. See
Possible .]
Not possible; incapable of being done, of existing, etc.; unattainable in the nature of things, or by means at command; insuperably difficult under the circumstances; absurd or impracticable; not feasible. With men this is impossible ; but with God all things are possible.
Matt. xix. 26. Without faith it is impossible to please him.
Hebrew xi. 6. Impossible quantity (Math.) ,
an imaginary quantity. See Imaginary . Syn. -- See
Impracticable .
Impossible Im·pos"si·ble noun An impossibility. [ Obsolete]
"Madam," quoth he, "this were an impossible !"
Chaucer.
Impossibly Im·pos"si·bly adverb Not possibly. Sir. T. North.
Impost Im"post noun [ Old French
impost , French
impot , Late Latin
impostus , from Latin
impostus , past participle of
imponere to impose. See
Impone .]
1. That which is imposed or levied; a tax, tribute, or duty; especially, a duty or tax laid by goverment on goods imported into a country. Even the ship money . . . Johnson could not pronounce to have been an unconstitutional impost .
Macaulay. 2. (Architecture) The top member of a pillar, pier, wall, etc., upon which the weight of an arch rests. » The impost is called
continuous , if the moldings of the arch or architrave run down the jamb or pier without a break.
Syn. -- Tribute; excise; custom; duty; tax.
Imposthumate Im·post"hu·mate transitive verb [ See
Imposthume .]
To apostemate; to form an imposthume or abscess. Arbuthnot.
Imposthumate Im·post"hu·mate transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Imposthumated ;
present participle & verbal noun Imposthumating .]
To affect with an imposthume or abscess.
Imposthumate Im·post"hu·mate adjective Imposthumated.
Imposthumation Im·post`hu·ma"tion noun 1. The act of forming an abscess; state of being inflamed; suppuration. 2. An abscess; an imposthume. Coxe.
Imposthume Im·post"hume noun [ A corruption of
aposteme . See
Aposteme .]
A collection of pus or purulent matter in any part of an animal body; an abscess.
Imposthume Im·post"hume transitive verb & i. Same as Imposthumate .
Impostor Im·pos"tor noun [ Latin
impostor a deceiver, from
imponere to impose upon, deceive. See
Impone .]
One who imposes upon others; a person who assumes a character or title not his own, for the purpose of deception; a pretender. "The fraudulent
impostor foul."
Milton. Syn. -- Deceiver; cheat; rogue. See
Deceiver .
Impostorship Im·pos"tor·ship noun The condition, character, or practice of an impostor. Milton.
Impostress, Impostrix Im·pos"tress, Im·pos"trix noun [ Late Latin
impostrix . See
Impostor .]
A woman who imposes upon or deceives others. [ R.]
Fuller.
Impostrous Im·pos"trous noun Characterized by imposture; deceitful. "
Impostrous pretense of knowledge."
Grote.
Imposturage Im·pos"tur·age noun Imposture; cheating. [ R.]
Jer. Taylor.
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