Imprinting was the act of an infant of a species, soon after its birth, identifying an adult as its parent.
In 2154, Captain Jonathan Archer once suffered what Phlox called "reverse-imprinting" when a substance ejected from an Xindi-Insectoid egg made Archer believe he was the "caretaker" of an entire Xindi hatchery. (ENT: "Hatchery")
In 2367, the spaceborne entity known as Junior imprinted on the USS Enterprise-D and latched onto it, draining the vessel's energy. (TNG: "Galaxy's Child")
See also[]
- Dermal imprint
- Family imprints
- Sub-quantum imprint (aka Quantum imprint)
- Trace imprint