impale |
1. To pierce with a pale; to put to death by fixing on a sharp stake. See Empale. "Then with what life remains, impaled, and left To writhe at leisure round the bloody stake." (Addison) 2. To inclose, as with pales or stakes; to surround. "Impale him with your weapons round about." (Shak) "Impenetrable, impaled with circling fire." (Milton) 3. To join, as two coats of arms on one shield, palewise; hence, to join in honorable mention. "Ordered the admission of St. Patrick to the same to be matched and impaled with the blessed Virgin in the honor thereof." (Fuller) Origin: See Empale. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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impalement |
1. The act of impaling, or the state of being impaled. 2. An inclosing by stakes or pales, or the space so inclosed. 3. That which hedges in; inclosure. 4. The division of a shield palewise, or by a vertical line, especially. For the purpose of putting side by side the arms of husband and wife. See Impale. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impalla |
<zoology> The pallah deer of South Africa. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impanation |
Embodiment in bread; the supposed real presence and union of Christ's material body and blood with the substance of the elements of the eucharist without a change in their nature; distinguished from transubstantiation, which supposes a miraculous change of the substance of the elements. It is akin to consubstantiation. Origin: Cf. F. Impanation. See Impanate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impanator |
One who holds the doctrine of impanation. Origin: LL. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
imparidigitate |
<anatomy> Having an odd number of fingers or toes, either one, three, or five, as in the horse, tapir, rhinoceros, etc. Origin: L. Impar unequal + digitus finger. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
imparipinnate |
Having an uneven number of pinnae, by virtue of having one terminal pinna. Compare: paripinnate. (09 Oct 1997) |
imparlance |
1. Mutual discourse; conference. 2. Time given to a party to talk or converse with his opponent, originally with the object of effecting, if possible, an amicable adjustment of the suit. The actual object, however, has long been merely to obtain further time to plead, answer to the allegations of the opposite party. Hence, the delay or continuance of a suit. Imparlance and continuance by imparlance have been abolished in England. Origin: Cf. Emparlance, Parlance Alternative forms: inparliance. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impartibility |
The quality of being incapable of division into parts; indivisibility. Origin: Cf. F. Impartibilite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impasture |
To place in a pasture; to foster. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impatent |
Not patent; closed. (05 Mar 2000) |
impatiens |
<botany> A genus of plants, several species of which have very beautiful flowers; so called because the elastic capsules burst when touched, and scatter the seeds with considerable force. Called also touch-me-not, jewelweed, and snapweed. I. Balsamina (sometimes called lady's slipper) is the common garden balsam. Origin: L, impatient. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impearl |
1. To form into pearls, or into that which resembles pearls. "Dewdrops which the sun Impearls on every leaf and every flower." (Milton) 2. To decorate as with pearls or with anything resembling pearls. "With morning dews impearled." (Mrs. Browning) "The dews of the morning impearl every thorn." (R. Digby) Origin: Pref. Im- in + pearl: cf. F. Emperler. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impeccable |
Not liable to sin; exempt from the possibility of doing wrong. One who is impeccable; especially, one of a sect of Gnostic heretics who asserted their sinlessness. "God is infallible, impeccable, and absolutely perfect." (P. Skelton) Origin: L. Impeccabilis; pref. Im- not + peccare to err, to sin: cf. F. Impeccable. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
impedance |
1. Total opposition to flow. When flow is steady, impedance is simply the resistance, e.g., the driving pressure per unit flow; when flow is changing, impedance also includes the factors that oppose changes in flow. Thus, deviations of impedance, from simple ohmic resistance because of the effects of capacitance and inductance, become more important in alternating current as the frequency of oscillations increases. In fluid analogies (e.g., pulsatile flow of blood, to-and-fro flow of respiratory gas), impedance depends not only on viscous resistance but also upon compressibility, compliance, inertance, and the frequency of imposed oscillations. 2. Resistance of an acoustic system to being set in motion. (05 Mar 2000) |