Emily Dickinson Lexicon

IMPORT, n.

1. That which is borne or conveyed in words; meaning; signification; the sense which words are intended to convey to the understanding, or which they bear in sound interpretation. Import differs from implication in this, that the meaning of a term or number of words in connection is less obscurely expressed. Import depends less on inference or deduction than implication, and is also applied more frequently to a single word. In all philosophical discussions, it is useful to ascertain the import of the terms employed. In the construction of laws and treaties, we are to examine carefully the import of words and phrases.
2. That which is imported or brought into a country from another country or state; generally in the plural. Our imports exceed our exports; the balance must be paid in specie; hence the scarcity of coin.
3. Importance; weight; consequence. [Formerly accented on the second syllable.] Shak. Dryden.