† imˈpester, v. Obs.
Also 7 em-.
[a. OF. empestrer (now empêtrer) ‘to pester, intricate, intangle’ (Cotgr.), f. late L. *impastoriāre (It. impastojare), f. im- (im-1) + late L. pastorium, -a, It. pastoia, pastora a shackle or hopple for a horse.]
trans. To hobble (a horse); to entangle, embarrass, encumber. Hence † imˈpesterment, an entanglement, embarrassment, encumbrance.
| 1601 Bp. W. Barlow Defence 200 To extricate our inclosure within any maze of empestered errors. 1611 Cotgr., Empestré, impestered, intangled. 1646 J. Temple Irish Rebell. ii. 3 Finding the City to grow daily more and more impestred with strangers. 1652 Urquhart Jewel Wks. (1834) 206 It would but intangle the minde with more impestrements. 1653 ― Rabelais ii. xxv, The two cables..intangled and impestered the legs of the horses. 1807 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 321 Such..transposition of the foot, as might incontinently impester the legs of the Hoppingtots. |