Im*pregn" (?), v. t. [Cf. F. impregner. See Impregnate.] To impregnate;
to make fruitful. [Obs.]
His pernicious words, impregned With reason.
Milton.
Semele doth Bacchus bear Impregned of Jove.
Dr. H. More.
Im*preg`na*bil"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being impregnable;
invincibility.
Im*preg"na*ble (?), a. [F. imprenable; pref. im- not + prenable
pregnable, fr. prendre to take, L. prehendere. See Comprehend, Get to
obtain.] Not to be stormed, or taken by assault; incapable of being
subdued; able to resist attack; unconquerable; as, an impregnable
fortress; impregnable virtue.
The man's affection remains wholly unconcerned and impregnable.
South.
-- Im*preg"na*ble*ness, n. -- Im*preg"na*bly, adv.
Im*preg"na*ble (?), a. [See Impregnate.] (Biol.) Capable of being
impregnated, as the egg of an animal, or the ovule of a plant.
Im*preg"nant (?), n. [See Impregnate.] That which impregnates. [R.]
Glanvill.
Im*preg"nant, a. [Pref. im- not + pregnant.] Not pregnant; unfertilized
or infertile. [R.]
Im*preg"nate (m*prg"nt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impregnated (-n*td); p.
pr. & vb. n. Impregnating (-n*tng).] [LL. impraegnatus, p. p. of
impraegnare to impregnate, fr. L. pref. im- in + praegnans pregnant.
See Pregnant.] 1. To make pregnant; to cause to conceive; to render
prolific; to get with child or young.
2. (Biol.) To come into contact with (an ovum or egg) so as to cause
impregnation; to fertilize; to fecundate.
3. To infuse an active principle into; to render fruitful or fertile in
any way; to fertilize; to imbue.
4. To infuse particles of another substance into; to communicate the
quality of another to; to cause to be filled, imbued, mixed, or
furnished (with something); as, to impregnate India rubber with
sulphur; clothing impregnated with contagion; rock impregnated with
ore.
Im*preg"nate (m*prg"nt), v. i. To become pregnant. Addison.
Im*preg"nate (-nt), a. [LL. impraegnatus, p. p.] Impregnated; made
prolific.
The scorching ray Here pierceth not, impregnate with disease.
Byron.
Im`preg*na"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. imprégnation, LL. impraegnatio.] 1. The
act of impregnating or the state of being impregnated; fecundation.
2. (Biol.) The fusion of a female germ cell (ovum) with a male germ
cell (in animals, a spermatozoön) to form a single new cell endowed
with the power of developing into a new individual; fertilization;
fecundation.
In the broadest biological sense, impregnation, or sexual generation,
consists simply in the coalescence of two similar masses of
protoplasmic matter, either derived from different parts of the same
organism or from two distinct organisms. From the single mass, which
results from the fusion, or coalescence, of these two masses, a new
organism develops.