E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Imp (Anglo-Saxon).
A graft; whence also a child; as, “You little imp.” In hawking, “to imp a feather” is to engraft or add a new feather for a broken one. The needles employed for the purpose were called “imping needles.” Lord Cromwell, writing to Henry VIII., speaks of “that noble imp your son.”
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“Let us pray for … the king’s most excellent majesty and for … his beloved son Edward, our prince, that most angelic imp.”—Pathway to Prayer.
