See Also: Impression(money)
Impression(medicine)
Impression(finance)
impression(dictionary)
impression(dictionary)
Impression(health)
impression material(medicine)
sectional impression(medicine)
impression compound(medicine)
CASE OF FIRST IMPRESSION(law)

impression (iou)



impression noun & verb. LME.
[Old & mod. French from Latin impressio(n-), from impress- pa. ppl stem of imprimere, formed as IM-1 + premere PRESS verb1: see -ION.]
A. noun.
a. Pressure applied by one thing on or into the surface of another; an instance or effect of such pressure; the stamping of a character or quality on. LME.
B. Jowett The creation of the world is the impression of order on a previously existing chaos.
b. A charge, an attack, an assault. LME-L18.
S. Johnson Elephants..by the violence of their impression..often threw the enemy into disorder.
c. Prosody & Rhetoric. A stress, an emphasis. M17-E19.
d. An impact or shock of an atmospheric or physical force. Now rare or obsolete. L17.
A mark produced on a surface by pressure, esp. by the application of a stamp, seal, etc. Also, a cast, a copy. LME.
G. Berkeley As..a seal [is said] to make an impression upon wax. D. L. Dineley Moulds or impressions are left in any soft mud or sand. fig.: W. Cowper If it bear The stamp and clear impression of good sense.
b. Dentistry. A mould (from which a positive cast may be made) formed by the imprint of the teeth, gums, etc., in a soft material. M19.
The effective action of one thing on another; influence; a change produced in a passive subject by the operation of an external cause. LME.
J. Imison One of the hardest metals; a file can scarcely make any impression on it. W. S. Churchill Rupert's cavalry..could make no impression on the London pikemen and musketeers.
b. spec. An atmospheric influence, condition, or phenomenon. LME-L17.
a. An effect produced on the mind, conscience, or feelings. LME.
E. A. Freeman A deep impression had been made on the minds of Englishmen. P. Roth Strong first impressions had of course been formed.
b. An effect produced on the senses; a sensation. E17.
B. Jowett Our impressions of hearing may be affected by those of sight.
c. A (vague or mistaken) notion or belief impressed on the mind. E17.
Oxford English Dictionary It is a mere impression, and I may easily be mistaken. R. Travers Burgess..dug his own grave under the impression he was opening a mining shaft.
a. The process of printing. Now rare. E16.
Gibbon The impression of the fourth volume had consumed three months.
b. The result of printing; a print taken from type or other surfaces. M16.
M. M. Heaton Very early impressions of Durer's engravings are seldom now to be met with.
c. (The printing of) the number of copies of a book, newspaper, etc., issued at one time. L16.
J. Collinges 6000 of his books being sold, if 1500 be allowed to an Impression.
d. An essentially unaltered reprint of a book etc. from standing type, plates, film, etc., as opp. to a new edition. E20.
J. Gross The book..quickly ran through half-a-dozen impressions, and Birrell..found himself a minor celebrity.
A representation of a person or thing by an artist, a mimic, etc.; a brief impersonation of a well-known personality. M20.
D. Nathan Peter would come in and do a few impressions of Kenneth Horne and others.
b. verb. rare.
verb intrans. Stamp; make an impression. Only in E17.
verb trans. Make an impression on, affect. M19.
Comb.: impression compound an impression material manufactured from a number of different ingredients, esp. one that is a non-elastic thermoplastic solid; impression material a substance used in taking dental impressions.
impressional adjective (a) impressionable; (b) of or pertaining to an impression or impressions: M19.
impressionless adjective (rare) M19.