Im*pet"u*ous (?), a. [F. impetueux, L. impetuosus. See Impetus.] 1.
Rushing with force and violence; moving with impetus; furious;
forcible; violent; as, an impetuous wind; an impetuous torrent.
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed.
Byron.
2. Vehement in feeling; hasty; passionate; violent; as, a man of
impetuous temper.
The people, on their holidays, Impetuous, insolent, unquenchable.
Milton.
Syn. -- Forcible; rapid; hasty; precipitate; furious; boisterous;
violent; raging; fierce; passionate.
-- Im*pet"u*ous*ly, adv. -- Im*pet"u*ous*ness, n.
Im"pe*tus (?), n. [L., fr. impetere to rush upon, attack; pref. im- in
+ petere to fall upon, seek. See Petition.] 1. A property possessed by
a moving body in virtue of its weight and its motion; the force with
which any body is driven or impelled; momentum.
Momentum is the technical term, impetus its popular equivalent, yet
differing from it as applied commonly to bodies moving or moved
suddenly or violently, and indicating the origin and intensity of the
motion, rather than its quantity or effectiveness.