imprint

English

WOTD – 6 October 2008

Etymology 1

From Old French empreinte, from the past participle of empreindre, from Latin imprimere

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɪm.pɹɪnt/
  • (file)
  • (file)

Noun

imprint (plural imprints)

  1. An impression; the mark left behind by printing something.
    The day left an imprint in my mind.
    • 2017 June 3, Daniel Taylor, “Real Madrid win Champions League as Cristiano Ronaldo double defeats Juv”, in The Guardian (London):
      It was the moment everyone knew the Champions League trophy was on its way back to the Bernabéu and, once again, that the four-times Ballon d’Or winner had left his imprint on another final.
  2. The name and details of a publisher or printer, as printed in a book etc.; a publishing house.
  3. A distinctive marking, symbol or logo.
    The shirts bore the company imprint on the right sleeve.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English emprinten, enprinten, from Old French empreinter, from the past participle of empreindre, from Latin imprimere

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɹɪnt/
  • (file)

Verb

imprint (third-person singular simple present imprints, present participle imprinting, simple past and past participle imprinted)

  1. To leave a print, impression, image, etc.
    For a fee, they can imprint the envelopes with a monogram.
    • Prior
      And sees his num'rous herds imprint her sands.
    • Cowper
      Nature imprints upon whate'er we see, / That has a heart and life in it, "Be free."
    • John Locke
      ideas of those two different things distinctly imprinted on his mind
  2. To learn something indelibly at a particular stage of life, such as who one's parents are.
  3. To mark a gene as being from a particular parent so that only one of the two copies of the gene is expressed.
Derived terms
Translations
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