ympe

English

Noun

ympe (plural ympes)

1. Obsolete form of imp. (young shoot of a plant)
2. Obsolete form of imp. (young or inferior devil)

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English impa, from impian.

Alternative forms

• impe, ymp, himpe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈimp(ə)/

Noun

ympe (plural ympes or ympen)

1. A shoot, twig or sprouting of a plant or shrub; a scion.
2. A plant, especially one that is newly-grown or young.
   • c. late 13th or early 14th century, Oscar Zielke, editor, Sir Orfeo: Ein englisches Feenmärchen aus dem Mittelalter: […] [Sir Orfeo: An English Fairy Tale from the Middle Ages: […]], Breslau: Verlag von Wilhelm Koebner, published 1880, →OCLC, page 89, lines 67–70:

     Þai sett hem doun al þre / Vnder a fair ympetre, / And wel sone þis fair quene / Fel on slepe opon þe grene.

     They set them down all three / Under a fair imp-tree, / And well soon this fair queen / Fell asleep upon the green.

3. (rare) Any kind of offspring.

Related terms

• ympen

Descendants

• English: imp
• Scots: imp

References

• “impe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-15.

Etymology 2

Verb

ympe

1. Alternative form of ympen