Because it is so tightly tethered to comedy, we almost never use the word ‘improv’ in relation to GameChangers (unless we’re referring to actual comedy improv).

We do, however, use the word ‘imp.’  I have always associated the idea of impishness–of being playfully mischievous–with improvisation and even sometimes refer to improvisers as ‘my fellow imps.’  While waiting on a Skype call this morning with Hildy Gottlieb of Creating the Future, I decided to look up the roots of the word ‘imp.’

Turns out that ‘imp’ comes from an entirely different strain of language than ‘improvise,’ which is derived the Latin root ‘improvisere,’ meaning ‘not foreseen.’  ‘Imp’ has Old English roots, a little Latin attribution.  Yet there’s a lot of overlap, like a family from Naples and one from Nottingham having a lot in common.

Here’s how the TheFreeDictionary.com, an aggregator of print dictionary listings, defines it:

imp (mp) n. 1. A mischievous child. 2. A small demon. 3. Obsolete A graft. tr.v. imped, imp·ing, imps 1. To graft (new feathers) onto the wing of a trained falcon or hawk to repair damage or increase flying capacity. 2. To furnish with wings. [Middle English impe, scion, sprig, offspring, from Old English impa, young shoot, from impian, to graft, ultimately from Medieval Latin impotus, graft, from Greek emphutos, grafted, from emphuein, to implant : en-, in; see en-2 + phuein, to make grow; see bheu- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	imp – (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous elf, gremlin, pixie, pixy, hob, brownie folklore – the unwritten lore (stories and proverbs and riddles and songs) of a culture faerie, faery, fairy, fay, sprite – a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers leprechaun – a mischievous elf in Irish folklore sandman – an elf in fairy stories who sprinkles sand in children’s eyes to make them sleepy
	2.	imp – one who is playfully mischievous scamp, monkey, rapscallion, rascal, scalawag, scallywag child, kid, minor, nipper, tiddler, youngster, tike, shaver, small fry, nestling, fry, tyke – a young person of either sex; “she writes books for children”; “they’re just kids”; “`tiddler’ is a British term for youngster” brat, holy terror, little terror, terror – a very troublesome child

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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imp

noun

1. demon, devil, sprite He sees the devil as a little imp with horns.

2. rascal, rogue, brat, urchin, minx, scamp, pickle (Brit. informal), gamin I didn’t say that, you little imp!

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

imp

adj impish

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GameChangers summary:  Both ‘imp’ and ‘improvisation’ express themes of playfulness, the getting of wings, a childlike view of the world, and a mischievous spirit that results in some kind of transformation.  Like improvisation, the imping that describes a plant graft builds on an existing reality.  Impishness isn’t a seed.  It is a branch grafted onto the existing reality of the tree.  It isn’t a new wing, it is adding feathers to a bird that already has wings.

Growth, flight, magic.   What fantastic themes these are.  Imp on!

Tags: Child, Cosmetic, etymology, Free Online Dictionary, Graft, Growth, IMP, impishness, improv, Improvisation, Language, Mischievous, Play

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