Other forms: imps
An imp is a small mischievous demon. A little imp, imps and devils, the Lincoln Imp.
In folklore an imp is a minor demon, more troublesome than dangerous, and it is the word that made the leap to affectionate use — calling a child an imp means mischievous rather than evil. The Lincoln Imp is a carving in Lincoln Cathedral with a legend attached. Note impish; and that the word originally meant a young shoot grafted onto a tree, from which it came to mean an offspring.
1nounimpA small mischievous demon.
“In the old tale, a little imp hid the farmer's tools and turned his milk sour.”
2nounchildA mischievous child, affectionately.
“Come here, you little imp, and give me back my glasses!”
imp is a small demon or mischief-maker.
Old English impian meant to graft. An imp was a young shoot, then a child or offspring, then specifically the offspring of the devil, which narrowed to a small demon.
Proto-Indo-European
*bʰuH- — to appear; to become; to grow
Ancient Greek
ἔμφῠτος — implanted; planted
Vulgar Latin
*imputō — to graft
Proto-West Germanic
*impōn — to graft
Old English
impian
Middle English
impen
English, today
imp
Built from
From Middle English impen, ympen (“to plant; (figuratively) to bury; to graft; to add to, insert, put into, set in; to mend (a falcon’s feather) by attaching a new feather on to the broken stump”), from Old English impian, ġeimpian (“to graft”), from Proto-West Germanic impōn (“to graft”), from Vulgar Latin imputō (“to graft”), from Ancient Greek ἔμφῠτος (“implanted; planted”), from ἐμφῠ́ω + -τος.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA