impale

American  

[im-peyl] / ɪmˈpeɪl /

verb (used with object)

impaled, impaling

1. to fasten, stick, or fix upon a sharpened stake or the like.

2. to pierce with a sharpened stake thrust up through the body, as for torture or punishment.

3. to fix upon, or pierce through with, anything pointed.

4. to make helpless as if pierced through.

5. Archaic. to enclose with or as if with pales or stakes; fence in; hem in.

6. Heraldry.

   1. to marshal (two coats of arms, as the family arms of a husband and wife) on an escutcheon party per pale.

   2. (of a coat of arms) to be combined with (another coat of arms) in this way.

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impale British  

/ ɪmˈpeɪl /

verb

1. to pierce with a sharp instrument

   they impaled his severed head on a spear

2. archaic to enclose with pales or fencing; fence in

3. heraldry to charge (a shield) with two coats of arms placed side by side

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Other Word Forms

• impalement noun
• impaler noun

Etymology

Origin of impale

1545–55; < Medieval Latin impālāre, equivalent to Latin im- im- ¹ + pāl ( us ) pale ² + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive ending

Explanation

The verb impale means to pierce an object with a sharp stick. When you're preparing shish kebabs, you impale chunks of marinated vegetables and meat on pointy metal skewers and then cook them on a grill. Impale comes from the Medieval Latin word impalare, which means "to push onto a stake." Impale can also mean to kill by piercing with a stake or spear. Legend has it that the only way to kill a vampire is to do exactly that: impale him with a wooden stake through the heart — and then stuff his mouth with garlic and chop off his head, too, just to be sure.

Example Sentences

The gesture was aimed at Mayfield, who in 2017 tried to impale an Oklahoma flag into the turf at Ohio Stadium after leading the Sooners to a win over the Buckeyes.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 8, 2019

They evolved near the base of the ant family tree and sported sharp, sickle-shaped tusks that may have slammed upward to impale other insects.

From Science Magazine • May 23, 2019

In any case, it’s an environment that you move around in, not some map you impale with little pins.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 30, 2018

The film’s writers, directors and stars lovingly impale bloodsucker mythology with the sharpened wooden stick of comedy.

From Washington Post • Feb. 18, 2015

I watched, certain that it was about to impale itself on the broken limb, but the jagged spear of hard wood barely dimpled its chest before splintering.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• prick
• transfix