impregnantadj.1n.
/ɪmˈprɛɡnənt/ A. adj.1† 1. Impregnated, pregnant.
a. Caused to conceive; figurative rendered fruitful or productive. Obsolete.
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the world > existence and causation > creation > productiveness > [adjective] > making or made productive
fructifyingc1374
prolific1635
impregnant1643
fecund1686
fructescent1862
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §16 [In the chaos] there was no deformity, because no forme, nor was it yet impregnant by the voice of God. View more context for this quotation
b. Imbued, saturated with. Obsolete.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > [adjective] > mixed with something > impregnated
impregnated1605
impregnate1646
impregned1647
impregnant1651
infiltrated1868
1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 163 Vapours of Nitre..bodying, and impregnant with Spirits of Nitre.
1670 E. Borlase Latham Spaw 5 The Water dies it with a rusty iron colour, one Argument of what it is impregnant with.
2. Impregnating. Also as n. That which impregnates (cf. quot. 1664 at impregnate v. 4). Now rare.
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the world > plants > part of plant > plant substances > [adjective] > swelling, rising, or impregnating (of sap)
proud1597
impregnanta1834
1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing xiv. 133 It [interest] is the Pole, to which we turn, and our sympathizing Judgements seldom decline from the direction of this Impregnant.
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1836) II. 340 This chaos, the eternal will,..acting as the impregnant, distinctive, and ordonnant power,—enabled to become a world.
1868 ‘G. Eliot’ Spanish Gypsy iv. 293 As the impregnant sap Of years successive frames the full-branched tree.
B. n.
A substance used for the impregnation of something else. (Cf. sense A. 2)
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > [noun] > admixture or addition as ingredient > impregnation or infiltration > an impregnating element
impregnation1714
imbruement1859
impregnant1933
embuement-
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > [noun] > admixture or addition as ingredient > impregnation or infiltration > an impregnating element > a substance which impregnates
impregnant1933
1933 H. Bennett Chem. Formulary I. 441/1 Leather Soles, Impregnant for.
1948 R. E. Kirk & D. F. Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. II. 546 The bitumens employed as felt impregnants are usually soft, low-melting materials of high fluidity in the molten condition.
1955 R. B. Seymour & R. H. Steiner Plastics for Corrosion-resistant Applic. xii. 191 The sealing effect of the impregnant..is dependent upon an increase in molecular size of the resin used.
1959 New Scientist 30 July 127/3 Inside present day automotive storage battery cells..a waffle-shaped network of lead holds the impregnant that keeps the battery alive.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
† impregnantadj.2
Obsolete. rare.
Not pregnant; sterile.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > infertility > [adjective] > not pregnant or fertilized
barrenc1400
impregnanta1659
unimpregnated1744
unimpregnated1800
unimpregnate1834
empty1858
unfecundated1858
infecundated1864
unfertilized1893
a1659 F. Osborne Misc. (1673) 610 That all things were not Created for their Own sakes, but the meer Interest of Nature, which abhors to be Idle, or to leave any in Impregnant Condition.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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adj.1n.1643
adj.2a1659