The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. An advance or a loan of funds, especially for services rendered to a government.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
v. To advance on loan.
n. A kind of earnest money; loan; -- specifically, money advanced for some public service, as in enlistment.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. A former and still occasional spelling of impressed, preterit and past participle of impress.
To advance on loan.
n. A form of loan; money advanced. See the extract.
Word Usage
"I know of no other use of the word "imprest" as a substantive; and though we see "debenture" often enough in railway reports, I cannot perceive the analogy between its meanings in the two cases."