1444 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 218 Stable in the eyr is noon inpressioun.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 34 a/2 We ought to bere the crosse of Jhesu cryst..in the mouth by confession..and in the vysage by contynuel impression.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. vi. sig. Hh^v The fruitfull seades Of all things liuing, through impression Of the sunbeames..Doe life conceiue.

1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Diiij^v What waxe so frozen but dissolues with tempring, And yeelds at last to euerie light impression ? View more context for this quotation

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 505 Signatures of Natures owne impression.

1793 T. Beddoes Observ. Nature & Cure Calculus 175 The heart does not contract itself immediately upon the first impression of the blood.

1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. 63 In any given perception there is a something which has been communicated to it [the mind] by an impact, or an impression ab extra.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 596 The creation of the world is the impression of order on a previously existing chaos.

1402 T. Hoccleve Let. of Cupid 233 Suche is the force of myn impressyon That sodenly I felle can hir bost.

1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 38/2 in Chron. I They were not able to susteyn the violent impression of the armed men, and so fled.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 630 The Duke of Avero, with his Portugals, made a great impression into the Mores host.

1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 21. ⁋5 Elephants..by the violence of their impression..often threw the enemy into disorder.

1799 Ld. Keith 9 July in Ld. Nelson Disp. & Lett. (1845) III. 414 (note) The Enemy have no intention of attempting an impression on the Island of Sicily.

c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. cxxviii. iv Euery lorde..spoyled other..By greate impression and cruell sore raunson.

1694 Acct. Several Late Voy. (1711) Introd. 22 To line them with the skins of Beasts, thereby to keep out the sharp impressions of the air.

1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 168 He is in danger from falls, and all impressions of violence.

1799 R. Kirwan Geol. Ess. 69 The traces of a violent shock or impression from the south are as yet perceptible in many countries.

1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 330 [When a cold wind rises] the most hardy cannot conceal their uneasiness under its first impressions.

1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 27 To you he wrote this precept..which (to you) must be read with an impression.

1798 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 4) iv. 215 The intermixture of Pyrrhics and Spondees; in which, two impressions in the one foot, make up for the want of one in the other.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 300 The impression or signe of peace, which is done with bringing both hands over the face.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 671 For the Ethiopian names or crosses..slaves..might leave such impressions.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 81 Time hath left now no impressions of his barbarous labour.

1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall ii. 14 Bones..with fresh impressions of their combustion.

1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 50 A gentleman of the new impression.

1677 tr. A.-N. Amelot de La Houssaie Hist. Govt. Venice 23 'Tis every day to be seen in Venice, Noblemen of the last impression do marry Ladies of the first.

1839 C. A. Harris Dental Art xxi. 350 Models of this kind are obtained by taking a wax impression of both jaws at the same time.

1878 C. Hunter Mech. Dentistry i. 7 When the composition has become sufficiently hard, the impression is withdrawn from the mouth, and cold water should be allowed to flow over it.

1940 J. Osborne Dental Mech. i. 1 The introduction..to the subject is the technique necessary for the accurate construction of a model, or positive likeness of the patient's mouth, from an impression or negative likeness.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xlv. 220 Go, little boke! I praye God the save From misse metryng by wrong impression.

1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) i. x. 44/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I At such time as I first attempted to commit this booke to the impression.

1602 T. Fitzherbert Def. Catholyke Cause Pref. f. 1^v This Apology being written..and made ready for the print..it seemed good..to stay the impression of it, vntil [etc.].

a1794 E. Gibbon Memoirs in Misc. Wks. (1796) I. 173 The impression of the fourth volume had consumed three months.

1837 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe I. iii. 263 The number of scholars was still not sufficient to repay the expenses of impression.

1559 Primer in Priv. Prayers (1851) 114 Neither to sel nor bye of any other impressions than suche as shal be Printed by the sayde Richard.

1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. **3^v Euerie priuate Scholler..beganne to vaunt their smattering of Latine, in English Impressions.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 438 They print..the letters not being therein set backeward, that in the impression they may appeare forward.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 20 Bundles of Characters tied together to Ape Printing. What they make their Impression on, I cannot inform you.

1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing vii. 381 He rubs the plate over with printing ink, as if an impression were about to be taken.

1832 C. Babbage Econ. Machinery & Manuf. (ed. 3) xi. 72 Coloured impressions of leaves upon paper may be made by a kind of surface printing.

1869 Mrs. Heaton A. Dürer (1881) ii. iii. 215 Very early impressions of Dürer's engravings are seldom now to be met with.

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2097/1 The copy of which dispensation..is exemplified in our former impression.

1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Bodl. copy) Ep. to Printer sig. 2 You write to mee my booke is hasting to the second impression.

1653 J. Collinges Responsoria ad Erratica Piscatoris sig. A3^v 6000 of his books being sold, if 1500 be allowed to an Impression.

1778 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry II. i. 19 Of this translation there were six impressions before the year 1601.

1891 Bibliog. Cat. Macmillan's Publications Pref. 5 After careful consideration the Publishers decided to describe as an Edition an impression from type set up afresh either with or without alteration and read for press by a proof-reader. An impression from standing type or from Stereotype or Electrotype plates is described as a Reprint.

1927 R. B. McKerrow Introd. Bibliogr. ii. iii. 175 When dealing with early books, ‘edition’ and ‘impression’ as a rule are the same thing, for the early printer normally distributed his type immediately it had been printed from, though there were..exceptions to this.

1949 F. Bowers Princ. Bibliogr. Descr. xi. 379 In its purest sense an edition of a book consists of all copies printed at any time or times from one setting of type, or its equivalent in the form of plates or monotype rolls; i.e., it is the sum of all impressions from one setting... All the copies of any single edition are not necessarily printed at any one time but may accumulate from a series of separate impressions removed from each other in date... Copies of each impression compose a part of an edition.

1972 P. Gaskell New Introd. Bibliogr. 315 It was not unusual in the nineteenth century for stereos to be used for ten successive impressions, and for electros to be used for as many as thirty; while, if a set of plates was kept as a ‘mother’ from which further sets could be made, the number of successive impressions of an edition that could be printed from plates was virtually unlimited.

1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 107 The eye..is more inclined to receive the impression of the one [black] than of the other [white].

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvii. 156 The impressions our Senses had formerly received.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. v. 83 Passive Impressions, by being repeated upon us, grow weaker.

1807 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. (ed. 3) II. 202 It has sourish taste at first, then makes a bitterish cooling impression, and at last leaves an agreeable sweetness.

1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect Introd. ii. 57 An impression of sound, a musical note, for example, is carried to the brain.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 278 It is hard to say how much our impressions of hearing may be affected by those of sight.

c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde v. 372 Ek oþere seyn þat þorugh Impressions [v.r. enpressiounnys] As yf a wight hath faste a þing in mynde..cometh swich auysions.

c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 363 In hire sleepe right for impression, Of hire Mirour she hadde Avision.

1576 A. Fleming tr. Hippocrates in Panoplie Epist. 267 Madnesse kindleth diseases in the mynde, bycause that it worketh in them..phantasticall impressions.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 80 Being over-rigid and severe, his Sermons made no Impression on his English Auditory.

1700 W. Congreve Way of World iv. i. 52 How shall I receive him? In what figure shall I give his Heart the first Impression? There is a great deal in the first Impression.

c1755 in R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania (1759) 270 It must have been while he was under the first Impressions given him by the Governor to our Disadvantage.

1759 R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania 270 While he was under the first Impressions given him by the Governor to our Disadvantage.

1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xlix. 186 If they had made no impression upon his heart.

1773 T. Smollett Ode to Indep. 30 He..deeply felt the impression of her charms.

1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) v. 57 First impressions, you know, often go a long way, and last a long time.

1847 H. Miller (title) First Impressions of England and its people.

1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. App. 560 A deep impression had been made on the minds of Englishmen.

1924 E. O'Neill Welded i. 90 The first impression of her whole personality is one of charm, partly innate, partly imposed by years of self-discipline.

1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. i. 12 Those perceptions, which enter with most force and violence, we may name impressions.

1742 D. Hume Orig. Ideas in Ess. Human Understanding (1817) II. 16 By the term impression, I mean all our more lively perceptions, when we hear, or see, or feel, or love, or hate, or desire, or will... Impressions are distinguished from ideas, which are the less lively perceptions, of which we are conscious, when we reflect on any of those sensations or movements above mentioned.

1953 J. Laurie Vaudeville 99 Some [beginners] just stuck to the regular ‘impressions’ and went through show biz getting by.

1969 Times 7 Nov. 13/3 An American entertainer..joked, sang, went on singing, and did impressions.

1971 D. Nathan Laughtermakers ii. 46 Peter would come in and do a few impressions of Kenneth Horne and others.

1971 D. Nathan Laughtermakers xiii. 227 Later on I'm going to do one or two impressions—I've got some good bird impressions, I eat worms.