imagine 
aboute the poynt of the gret Compa>, that Is clept (he- 
Centre, bo made another litille Compos. 
Maintei-ille, Travels, p. 186. 
Our view of any transaction . . . will necessarily be im- 
perfect . . . unless we can . . . imagine ourselves the 
agenU* or spectators. 
Whately, On Bacon's Essay on Studios. 
Ami far beyond, 
Jwaifiit' d more than Been, the skirts of France. 
Tennyson, I'rincess, Conclusion. 
2. To conceive in the mind ; suppose ; conjec- 
turc. 
The grcttyst preseruacion of peas and gode rule to be 
hadde within the tonne and shire of Brlstowe that can be 
ymayened. Eiujlidi Gilds (E. E. T. St.), p. 428. 
That which hitherto we have set down is . . . sufficient 
to shew their brutishness, which imagine that religion 
and virtue are only as men will account of t In in. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, i. 10. 
Well, I will lock his counsel in my breast ; 
And what I do imagine, let that rest. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI, it 6. 
If the Rebellion is at all suppressed in any time, I inut- 
<tiii'' some of our troops will go. Walpole, Letters, II. 15. 
3. To contrive in purpose ; scheme ; devise. 
How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? 
Ps. Uii. 3. 
^Syn. 1 and 2. Surmise, Quess, etc. (aeeconjecture\ fancy, 
picture to one's self, apprehend, believe, suppose, deem. 
3. To plan, frame, scheme. 
II. intrans. 1. To form images or concep- 
tions; exercise imagination. 2. To suppose; 
fancy ; think. 
The matter was otherwise received than they imagined. 
Bacon, Physical Fables, it 
My sister is not so defenceless left 
As you imagine. Milton, Comus, 1. 415. 
imaginer (i-maj'i-ner), n. 1. One who imagines, 
or forms ideas or conceptions ; a contriver. 
Others think also that these imagine invented that 
they spake of their own heads. 
North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 121. 
2f. A plotter ; a schemer. 
For men of warre inclosed in fortresses are sore imagii- 
ners. Berners, tr. of Froissart's Chron., II. clxvii. 
imagines, . Latin plural of imago. 
imaging (im'aj-ing), . [Verbal n. of image, v.] 
The forming of mental images ; expression by 
means of imagery. 
Imaging is, in itself, the very height and life of poetry. 
Dryden, State of Innocence, Pref. 
imagining (i-maj'i-niug), n. [< ME. imagininge ; 
verbal u. of imagine, v.] 1. The act of form- 
ing images in the mind. 2. That which is 
imagined. 
Present fears 
Are less than horrible imaginings. 
Shak., Macbeth, i. 3. 
3f. Scheming; plot; contrivance. 
There were iij lordes came on to the kyng, 
Desireng hym on huntyng for to goo, 
ifull ontrewly ther with ytna</enyng. 
Oenerydei (E. E. T. S.\ L 963. 
imaginoust (i-maj'i-nus), a. [= It. immagi- 
noso, iiiiiii/iinifid, < ML. *imaginosus, < L. imago 
(imagin-), image: see image.] Pull of or char- 
acterized by imagination ; imaginative. 
There is a kind of cure 
To fright a lingering fever from a man 
By an imaginotts fear. 
Chapman, Mons. D'Ollve, v. 1. 
imago (i-ma'go), n. ; pi. images, imagines (-goz, 
i-maj'i-nez). [NL. use of L. imago, an image, 
likeness: see image.] In eutom., the final, per- 
fect stage or state of an insect, after it nas 
undergone all its transformations and become 
capable of reproduction. The name is due to the 
fact that such an insect, having passed through its larval 
stages, and having, as it were, cast off its mask or disguise, 
has become a true representation or image of Its species. 
See cut under IHptera. 
imam, imam, imaum (i-mam', i-mam'), . [= 
P. Sp. Pg. iman = Pers. Turk, imam, < Ar. 
imiim, a guide, chief, leader, < amma, walk be- 
fore, preside.] A Mohammedan chief or leader. 
Specifically (n) The religious title of the four successors 
of Mohnmmed, and of the four great doctors of the four 
orthodox sects; hence, a Mohammedan prince or religious 
leader: as, the Imamot Muscat. (/<) The title of the great 
leaders of the shiites or Shiahs. These are All, believed 
by them U) have been constituted by Mohammed the Imam 
or head of the faithful (called oaltf by the Sunnis), ami liis 
ten successors, the twelfth being yet to come in the per- 
son of the Handler Messiah predicted l>v Mohammed, (c) 
The person who leads the daily prayers in the mosque, and 
receives its revenues. 
The word imiim literally means the chief, or guide. 
In public prayer it signifies the oRiciuting minister, whose 
words the people repeat in a low voice, and whose ges- 
tures they Imitate; he is a delegate of the supreme Imam, 
the successor of Mahomet 
J. Darmesteter, The Mahdi (trans. X p. 87. 
imamate (i-mam'an, . [< imam + -<i/,-.] The 
office or function of an imam ; the ealifate. 
2993 
The caliphate ... Is also called El Imamah, the Imam- 
ate. Kncyc. Brit., XII. 714. 
imaret (im'a-ret), n. [Turk, iniiirrt.] A kind 
of hospice or hostelry for the free accommoda- 
tion of Mohammedan pilgrims and other trav- 
elers in the Turkish empire. 
Their Hospitals they call Imarels ; of these there are 
great vse, because they want Innes In the Tnrkes domin- 
ions. They found them for the rcliefe of the poore, and 
of Trauellers, where they haue food allowed them (differ- 
ing according to the vse of the place), and lodging places, 
without beds. They are open for the most part to all men 
of all religion*. 1'unhru, Pilgrimage, p. 299. 
On the brink 
Of a small imarct's rustic fount 
Moore, Paradise and the Perl. 
imaum, n. See imam. 
imbalmt, v. t. An obsolete form of embalm. 
imban (im-ban'), v. t. [< in-i + 6ai.] To ex- 
communicate, in a civil sense ; cut off from the 
rights of man, or exclude from the common privi- 
leges of humanity. J. Barlow. [Bare.] 
imband (im-band'), v. t. [< i-l + band*.] To 
form into a band or bands. [Rare.] 
Beneath full sails imbandcd nations rise. J. Barlow. 
imbankt, *. t. An obsolete form of embank. 
imbankmentt, An obsolete form of embank- 
ment. 
imbannered (im-ban 'erd), a. [< in- 2 + ban- 
ner + -ed' 2 .] Furnished with banners. 
imbart (im-biir'), v. t. To bar out. See embar. 
So do the kings of France unto this day. 
Howbeit they would hold up this Salique law. 
To bar your highness claiming from the female ; 
And rather choose to hide them in a net 
Than amply to imbar their crooked titles, 
Usurp'd from you and your progenitors. 
Shak., Hen.V., i 2. 
[The sense of imbar in this passage is disputed ; It may be 
an error. Some editions have imoare, which is denned 
"to make or lay bare ; expose,"] 
imbargot, > An obsolete form of embargo. 
imbarkt, . An obsolete form of embark. 
imbarkationt, n. An obsolete form of embarka- 
tion. 
imbarkmentt, Same as embarkment. 
imbarrent, v. t. Same as embarren. 
imbaset, v. t. Same as cmbase. 
imbastardizet (im-bas'tar-diz), v. t. Same as 
embastardize. 
imbathet (im-bara'), v. t. Same as embathc. 
imbattle (im-bat'l), v. t. Same as embattle?. 
imbattled(im-bat'ld),p. a. Same as embattled. 
imbayt, v. t. An obsolete form of embay 1 . 
imbayed (im-bad'), P- a. Same as embayed. 
imbecile (im'be-sil or im-bes'il), a. and n. [< 
OF. imbecile, imbecille, F. imbecile = Sp. Pg. im- 
becil = It. iinbedlle, < L. imbecillis, inbecillis, usu- 
ally imbecillus, inbecillus, weak, feeble; origin 
unknown. The common derivation < in, on, + 
bacillus, a staff (as if referring to the feeble 
steps of age), is improbable. The first syllable 
is more likely in- priv. Hence imbecile.!:, and 
its doublet embezzle, q. v.] I. a. 1. Without 
physical strength; feeble; impotent; helpless. 
[Rare.] 
We in a manner were got out of God's possession ; were 
in respect to him become imbecile and lost. 
Barrow, Works, II. xxii. 
2. Mentally feeble ; fatuous ; having the men- 
tal faculties undeveloped or greatly impaired. 
See imbecility. 
The man became 
Imbecile; his one word was "desolate." 
Dead for two years before his death was he. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
3. Marked by mental feebleness or incapacity ; 
indicating weakness of mind ; inane ; stupid : 
as, imbecile efforts ; an imbecile speech. 
To Americans, the whole system of Italian education 
seems calculated to reduce women to a state of imbecile 
captivity before marriage. lloiivtl*, Venetian Life, xxL 
= Syn. 2 and 3. Foolish, driveling, Idiotic. See debility. 
H. n. One who is imbecile, 
imbecile* (im'be-sil or im-bes'il), v. t. [Earlier 
also iuihrril. imbecill, imbecell. etc., and, with 
devious forms, imbezzk, embezzle, etc. (see em- 
bezzle, ult. a doublet of imbecile, r.) ; from the 
adj.] 1. To make imbecile ; weaken. 
It is a sad calamity, that the fear of death shall so inibf- 
die man's courage and understanding that he dares not 
suffer the remedy of all his calamities. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Dying, iii. 7. 
2. To embezzle. 
Princes must, in a special manner, be guardians of pu- 
pils and widows, not suffering their persons to be op- 
pressed, or their states imbeciled, or in any sense be ex- 
posed to the rapine of covetous persons. 
Jer. Taiilur, Holy Living, iii. .'. 
He brought from thence abundance of brave armes, 
which were here reposited ; but in the late warres much 
of the armes was imbefell'd. 
Aubrey's Wilts, Royal Soc. MS., p. 240. (llalliirell.) 
imblaze 
imbecilitatet (im-be-sil'i-tat), r. t. [< imbecil- 
ity + -ate?.] To weaken; render feeble. 
imbecility (im-be-sil'j-ti), n. [< OF. imln rilrti , 
iinlii-rillili', F. iiubreiflitc S|i. imlm-iliilad = 
Pg. imbecillidarlc = It. imbecillita, < L. imbecil- 
lita(t-)s, inbccillita(t-)s, weakness, feebleness, 
< imbecillis, inbecillis, weak: <' iiiilm-ile, a.] 
The condition or quality of being imbecile or 
impotent; weakness of either body or mind, 
but especially of the latter. Mental imbecility it 
such a weakness of mind, owing to defective development 
or to loss of faculty, as to Incapacitate ita subject for the 
ordinary duties of life, and for legal consent, choice, or re- 
sponsibility. 
Cruelty . . . arguea not only a depravedness of nature, 
but also a meanness of courage and imbecility of mind. 
Sir W. Temple, Introd. to Hist Eng. 
No one can doubt that his | Petrarch's) poems exhibit, 
amidst some imbecility and more affectation, much ele- 
gance, ingenuity, and tenderness. Macaiilay, Dante. 
Though to the larger and more trifling part of the sex 
[men] imbecility in females is a great enhancement of 
their personal charms, there is a portion of them too rea- 
sonable and too well-informed themselves to desire any- 
thing more In woman than ignorance. 
Jane Austen, Morthanger Abbey, xiv. 
= Syn. Infirmity, Imbecility, etc. (see debility') ; feeble- 
ness, childishness, Idiocy, dotage. 
imbed, . t. See embed. 
imbellic (im-bel'ik), a. f< L. in- priv. + belli- 
cus, warlike : see bellic. Cf . L. imbellis, inbellis, 
unwarlike, < i- priv. + helium, war.] Not war- 
like or martial ; unwarlike. [Rare.] 
The imbellick peasant, when he comes first to the field, 
shakes at the report of a musket. 
/ '. Janiut, Sin Stigmatized, p. 423. 
inibellisht, v. t. An obsolete form of embellish. 
imbellishingt, Same as embellishment. 
The devices and imbellishiiigtt of man's imagination. 
Milton, Church-Government, L 2. 
imbenchingt (im-ben'ching), . [< in-i + 
bench + -ing 1 .] A raised work like a bench. 
Farlcliurst. 
imber, imber-diver, imber-goose (im'ber, -di*- 
ver, -gos), n. Same as ember-goose. 
imbezzlet, * An obsolete form of embezzle. 
imbibe (im-bib'). v. ; pret. andpp. imbibed, ppr. 
imbibing. [< ME. "enbiben, F. imbiber = Sp. 
Pg. embeber = It. imbcrere, < L. itnbibere, inbi- 
bere, drink in,< in, in, + biberc, drink: see Wftl, 
bibulous.] I. trans. 1. To drink in; absorb by 
or as if by drinking: as, a sponge imbibes moist- 
ure. 
Various are the Colours you may try, 
Of which the thirsty Wooll imbibes the Dye. 
Conffreve, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love. 
So barren sands imbibe the show'r. 
Courper, Friendship, 1. 184. 
This Is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one 
sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. 
Thoreau, \Valden, p. 140. 
2. To receive or admit into the mind ; imbue 
one's mind with: as, to imbibe errors. 
It is not easy for the mind to put off those confused no- 
tions and prejudices it has imbibed from custom. Locke. 
One wise rule of behaviour, deeply imbibed, will be use- 
ful to us in hundreds of instances. 
Dp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. vIL 
3f. To cause to drink in ; imbue. 
Metals, corroded with a little acid, turn into rust, which 
Is an earth tasteless and imlissolvable in water ; and this 
earth, imbibed with more acid, becomes a metallick salt 
Newton. 
H. intrans. To drink ; absorb liquid or moist- 
ure. 
O to watch the thirsty plants 
Imbibing .' Tcnninun, Princess, II. 
imbiber (im-bi'ber), n. One who or that which 
imbibes. 
Salts are strong imbibers of sulphureous steams. 
Arlruthnot. 
imbibition (im-bi-bish'on), n. [= P. imbibi- 
tion = Sp. imbibicion ; as imbibe + -itipn.] The 
act of imbibing; the absorption of a liquid into 
the passages or pores of a body. 
Beside the common way and road of reception by the 
root, there may be a refection and imbibition from with- 
out ; for gentle showrs refresh plants, though they enter 
not the roots. Sir T. Rruwne, Garden of Cyrus, iv. 
A drop of oil let fall upon a sheet of white paper, that 
part of it which by the imbibition of the liquor acquires 
a greater continuity and some transparency will appear 
much darker than the rest ' 
The variation in the amount of water present produces 
a correspondinc variation in the volume of the cell-wall ; 
hence the absorption of water or imbibition by the cell- 
wall has come to be termed its " swelling-up." 
I'inet, Physiol. of Plants, p. 14. 
imbittert (im-bit'er), r . t. An obsolete form of 
enibii 
imbitterert (im-bit'er-er), n. An obsolete form 
d' i-nibittrrer. 
irnblazet, ''. t. An obsolete form of emblaze. 
