imprescribable 
imprescribable (im-pre-skri'ba-bl), a. [< in- 3 
+ prescribable.'] Same as imprescriptible. 
The ownership of land was by the law of the islands 
[Orkney] reserved to the descendants of the original oc- 
cupant, by an inalienable and imprescribable entail. 
Westminster Rev., CXXVIII. 688. 
imprescriptibility (im-pre-skrip-ti-bil'i-ti), n. 
[= F. imprescriptibttM = Pg. imprescriptiU- 
lidade; as imprescriptible + -ity : see -bility.] 
The character of being imprescriptible. 
The Pontifical letters of Gregory XIII., In 1580, by which 
the rights and dues belonging to the State were recalled 
to vigour, and their imprescriptibility established. 
Ure, Diet., IV. 859. 
imprescriptible (im-pre-skrip'ti-bl), a. [= F. 
imprescriptible =r Sp. imprescriptible = Pg. im- 
prescriptivel = It. imprescrittibile ; as in- 3 + 
prescriptible.'] Not founded on prescription; 
existing independently of law or convention; 
not justly to be violated or taken away. Also 
imprescribable. 
Brady went back to the primary sources of our history, 
and endeavoured to show that Magna Charta, as well as 
every other constitutional law, were but rebellious en- 
croachments on the ancient uncontrollable imprescripti- 
ble prerogatives of the monarchy. BaUam. 
The award of the tribunal of posterity is a severe deci- 
sion, but an imprescriptible law. 
/. D'Israeli, Amen, of Lit., I. 254. 
imprescriptibly (im-pre-skrip'ti-bli), adv. In 
an imprescriptible manner. 
impreset, impress 3 ! (im-pres', im-pres'), n. 
[Early mod. E. also imprcsse; < OF. imprese (= 
Sp. empresa, emprise = It. impresa), a mark, 
badge, as of a knight undertaking an enter- 
prise, a particular use of emprise, an enterprise: 
see emprise. Cf. impresa.} A badge, cogni- 
zance, or device worn by a noble or his retain- 
ers ; an impresa. 
The beautiful motto which formed the modest imprest 
of the shield worn by Charles Brandon at his marriage 
with the king's sister. Lamb, Melancholy of Tailors. 
His armour and attire of a sea colour, his impress a flsh 
called a sepia. Sic P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. 
Irablazon'd shields, 
Impresses quaint, caparisons and steeds. 
Milton, P. L., ix. 35. 
impress 1 (im-pres'), v. [<C ME. impressen, en- 
precen, < OF. empresser, impresser, < L. impresses, 
inpressus, pp. of imprimere, inprimere (> It. im- 
primere = Sp. Pg. imprimir = Pr. enpremar = 
F. imprimer), press into or upon, stick, stamp, 
or dig into, < in, in, upon, + premere, press : see 
press*. Cf. imprint 1 .] I. trans. 1. To press 
upon or against ; stamp in; mark by pressure ; 
make an impression upon. 
As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air 
With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed. 
Shak., Macbeth, v. 7. 
He did impress 
On the green moss his tremulous step. 
Shelley, Alastor. 
The cartonnage of Queen Ahmes Nofretari is impressed 
in parts with a reticulated sexagonal pattern. 
Harper's Mag., LXV. 192. 
Hence 2. To affect forcibly, as the mind or 
some one of its faculties; produce a mental 
effect upon : as, to impress the memory or ima- 
gination ; the matter impressed him favorably. 
Nothing impresses the traveller more, on visiting the 
once imperial city, than the long lines of aqueducts that 
are seen everywhere stretching across the now deserted 
plain of the Campagna. J. Fergwson, Hist. Arch., I. 373. 
3. To produce or fix by pressure, or as if by 
pressure ; make an impression of ; imprint, lit- 
erally or figuratively : as, to impress figures on 
coins or plate ; to impress an image on the mem- 
ory. 
There is impressed, upon all things a triple desire or ap- 
petite proceeding from love to themselves. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 273. 
In proportion as an incident force impresses but little 
motion on a mass, it is better able to impress motion on 
parts of the mass in relation to each other. 
B. Spencer, Prln. of Biol., 9. 
A self -sustained Intellectual might is impressed on every 
page. Whipple, Essays, I. 177. 
Hence 4. To stamp deeply on the mind ; fix 
by inculcation. 
But nothing might relent her hasty flight, 
So deepe the deadly feare of that foule swaine 
Was earst impressed, in her gentle spright. 
Spenser, V. Q., III. iv. 49. 
We should . . . impress the motives of persuasion upon 
our own hearts until we feel the force of them. Watts. 
To keep man in the planet, she [Nature] impresses the 
terror of death. Emerson, Old Age. 
Impressed forces. See/orcel, 8 (a). 
ll.t intrans. To be stamped or impressed; fix 
itself. 
3018 
Swich feendly thoughtes in his hcrte impresse. 
Chaucer, Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 60. 
impress 1 (im'pres), . [< ME. "empresse, en- 
presae, < LL. impressits, inpressus, a pressing 
upon, < L. imprimere, pp. impressus, press upon: 
see impress 1 , .] 1. A mark or indentation made 
by pressure ; the figure or image of anything 
imparted by pressure, or as if by pressure; 
stamp; impression; hence, any distinguishing 
form or character. 
Eaz'd out my impress, leaving me no sign, 
Save men's opinions and my living blood. 
Shak., Rich. II., Iii. 1. 
They [angels] were the lieutenants of God, sent with the 
impresses of his majesty. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1885), I. 899. 
Every day our garments become more assimilated to 
ourselves, receiving the impress of the wearer's character. 
Tharcau, Walden, p. 25. 
2f. Semblance; appearance. 
This noble cite of ryche cnprexse 
Watj sodanly ful with-outen sommoun 
Of such vergynej. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), 1. 1096. 
impress 2 (im-pres'), v. t. [An alteration, in 
simulation of impress' 1 , of imprest 2 (as press 2 , 
pret.prest 2 ): see imprest 2 .] 1. To compel to 
enter into public service, as seamen; take into 
service by compulsion, as nurses during an epi- 
demic. 
About a year after, being impressed to go against the Pe- 
quods, he gave ill speeches, for which the governour sent 
warrant for him. Winthrop, Hist. New England, L 289. 
2. To seize ; take for public use : as, to impress 
provisions. 
The second five thousand pounds impressed for the ser- 
vice of the sick and wounded prisoners. Evelyn. 
impress 2 (im-pres'), [< impress 2 , .] Im- 
pressment. 
Your ships are not well roann'd ; 
Your mariners are mullters, reapers, people 
Ingross'd by swift impress. Shak., A. and C., iii. 7. 
They complain of these impresses and rates as an unsup- 
portable grievance. Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 353. 
impress 3 !, See imprese. 
impressed (im-presf), p. a. In zool. and bot.: 
(a) Lower than the general surface, and ap- 
pearing as if stamped into it : as, an Impressed 
line or dot. (b) Having one or more impres- 
sions. 
impress-gangt (im-pres 'gang), . A press- 
gang. 
impressibility (im-pres-i-bil'i-ti), n. [< im- 
pressible: see -bility.] The quality of being 
impressible. 
They [blue eyes] are sure signs of a tender impressibility 
and sympathysing disposition. 
Phitos. Letters on Physiognomy, p. 229. 
Increased impressibility by an external stimulus re- 
quires an increased peripheral expansion of the nervous 
system on which the stimulus may fall. 
B. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., 295. 
impressible (im-pres'i-bl), a. [= F. impressi- 
ble = Pg. impressivel; as impress 1 + -ible.] Ca- 
pable of being impressed ; susceptible of re- 
ceiving impression. 
Without doubt an heightened and obstinate fancy hath 
a great influence upon impressible spirits. 
Glam-ille, Witchcraft, p. 86, 7. 
The Bushman is impressible by changes in the field of 
view which do not impress the European. 
B. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., 80. 
impressibleness (im-pres'i-bl-nes), n. Impres- 
sibility. 
impressibly (im-pres'i-bli), adv. In an im- 
pressible manner. 
impression (im-presh'on), n. [< ME. impres- 
sioun, < OF. (also F.) impression = Pr. empres- 
sio = Sp. impression = Pg. impressSo = It. im- 
pressione, < L. impressio(n-), inpressio(n-), a 
pressing into, impression, assault, < imprimere, 
inprimere, pp. impressus, inpressus, press in or 
into: see impress 1 .] 1. The act of impressing, 
imprinting, or stamping, or the state of being 
impressed or stamped. 
And the divine impression of stol'n kisses, 
That seal'd the rest, should now prove empty blisses? 
Donne, Expostulation (ed. 1819). 
2. That which is impressed, imprinted, or 
stamped ; a mark made by or as if by pressure ; 
a stamp ; an impress. 
An unlick'd bear-whelp, 
That carries no impression like the dam. 
SAi.,3Hen. VI., iii. 2. 
Honours, like an impression upon coin, may give an ideal 
and local value to a bit of base metal. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, Bed. to a Great Man. 
He took off an impression of the lock and key, and had 
a key made. Mrs. Riddell, City and Suburb, p. 463. 
Specifically 3. In printing, a copy taken by 
pressure from type, or from an engraved or 
impressionability 
stereotyped plate or block, or from an assem- 
blage of them. 
He can also print wonderful counterproofs from the 
original impressions. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 335. 
4. The aggregate of copies of a printed work 
made at one time. 
He did, upon my declaring my value of it, give me one 
of Lilly's grammars of a very old impresman, as it was in 
the Catholique times, at which I shall much set by. 
Pepys, Diary, II. 216. 
5. An image ; an appearance in the mind caused 
by something external to it. [This is the ear- 
liest philosophical use of the word, and is a 
translation of the Peripatetic ri'Truovf.] 
Hence our desires, feares, hopes, love, hate, and sorrow, 
In fancy make us heare, feele, see impression*. 
Lord Br/ivke, Human Learning (1633), st. 13. 
However late in the evening I may arrive at a place, I 
cannot go to bed without an impression. 
B. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 75. 
Turner's advice was to paint your "impressions," but 
he meant by impressions something very different from 
the impressions of the modern impressionists. 
The Portfolio, No. 228, p. 232. 
6. The first and immediate effect upon the 
mind in outward or inward perception ; sensa- 
tion: as, the impressions made on the sense of 
touch. [This precise use of the word was intro- 
duced by Hume.] 
All perceptions of the human mind resolve themselves 
into two distinct kinds, which I shall call impressions and 
ideas. The difference betwixt these consists in the de- 
grees of force and liveliness with which they strike upon 
the mind, and make their way Into our thought or con- 
sciousness. Those perceptions which enter with most 
force and violence we may name impressions; and under 
this name I comprehend all our sensations, passions, and 
emotions, as they make their first appearance in the soul. 
Hume, Human Nature, I. 1. 
A fresh condition of the brain is an important element 
in the retention of impressions. 
J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 231. 
Mere impressions are isolated and unconnected. They 
have no relation to each other, and hence no relation to 
any object more permanent than themselves. 
E. CairO,, Philos. of Kant, p. 199. 
7. Effect, especially strong effect, produced on 
the intellect, conscience, or feelings ; the sensi- 
ble result of an influence exerted from without. 
Sir, I have so many and so IndeUlble impressions of 
your favour to me as they might serve to spread over all 
my poor race. Donne, Letters, liii. 
We speak of moral impressions, religious impressions, 
impressions of sublimity and beauty. 
Fleming, Vocab. of Philos. 
He [Thoreau] was forever talking of getting away from 
the world, but he must be always near enough to it ... 
to feel the impression he makes there. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 204. 
8. A notion, remembrance, or belief, especial- 
ly one that is somewhat indistinct or vague. 
Whatever be the common impressions on the point, 
there are singular facilities in England for the cultivation 
of Roman law. Maine, Village Communities, p. 378. 
My impression is that they are the buildings Fa Hian 
describes as preaching halls the chaitya or ceremonial 
halls attached to the great dagobas. 
J. Fergusson, Hist Indian Arch., p. 198. 
9. That which is impressed ; a thing producing 
a mental image. 
The Pont du Card [at Nimes] is one of the three or four 
deepest impressions they [the Romans] have left ; it speaks 
of them in a manner with which they might have been 
satisfied. H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 171. 
10f. Impressing force or power. 
Universal gravitation is above all mechanism, and pro- 
ceeds from a divine energy and impression. Bentley. 
11. In painting: (a) The first coat, or ground 
color, laid on to receive the other colors. (6) 
A single coat or stratum of color laid upon a 
wall or wainscot of an apartment for orna- 
ment, or upon timber to preserve it from moist- 
ure, or upon metals to keep them from rusting. 
12. In zob'L, an impressed or sunken dot, 
short line, or small space on a surface. 
The head has a lunate impression on each side. Say. 
Action of the first Impression, an action which has 
no known precedent; a case presented lor adjudication 
which, being brought on a state of facts such as have not 
previously given rise to actions, must be determined on 
general principles. Colic Impression, an impression on 
the under surface of the liver, marking the hepatic flex- 
ure of the colon Confluent, digital, muscular, etc., 
Impressions. Seethe adjectives. Renal impression, 
an impression on the under surface of the liver, caused 
by the right kidney. 
impressionability (im-presh"pn-a-biri-ti), n. 
[(impressionable: see -biUty.~\ The quality of 
being impressionable ; susceptibility to impres- 
sions ; great sensibility. 
Our difference of wit appears to be only a difference of 
tttijirfissionctbilitit, or power to appreciate faint, fainter, 
and infinitely faintest voices and visions. 
Emerson, Success. 
