Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for impale on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), im·paled, im·pal·ing. to fasten, stick, or fix upon a sharpened stake or the like. to pierce with a sharpened stake thrust up through the body, as for torture or punishment. to fix upon, or pierce through with, anything pointed. to make helpless as if pierced through. Archaic to enclose with or as if with pales or stakes; fence in; hem in. Heraldry to marshal (two coats of arms, as the family arms of a husband and wife) on an escutcheon party per pale. (of a coat of arms) to be combined with (another coat of arms) in this way. Show More
Origin of impale 1545–55; <
Medieval Latin impālāre, equivalent to
Latin im- im-1 +
pāl(us )
pale2 +
-ā- thematic vowel +
-re infinitive ending
Related forms im·pal·er , noun im·pale·ment , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for impalement persecution ,
suffering ,
torment ,
misery ,
laceration ,
distress ,
martyrdom ,
agony ,
dolor ,
twinge ,
pang ,
affliction ,
ache ,
crucifixion ,
anguish ,
rack ,
tribulation ,
excruciation ,
impalement ,
hit Examples from the Web for impalement Historical Examples of impalement Since the marriage of Alroy, there had never been such a merry morn as the day of his impalement .
And he gave orders that he should be put to death by impalement next morning.
Chiefest of all, the impalement of the old Raimondi on Marta's knife.
But impalement as we now know it was preceded by dimidiation.
Some are said to have survived their impalement as much as forty-eight hours.
British Dictionary definitions for impalement (often foll by on, upon, or with ) to pierce with a sharp instrument they impaled his severed head on a spear archaic to enclose with pales or fencing; fence in heraldry to charge (a shield) with two coats of arms placed side by side Show More
Derived Forms impalement or empalement , noun impaler or empaler , noun Word Origin for impale C16: from Medieval Latin impālāre, from Latin im- (in) + pālus pale ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for impalement n. 1590s, from French empalement , from empaler (see impale ).
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v. 1520s, "to enclose with stakes, fence in," from Middle French empaler and directly from Medieval Latin impalare "to push onto a stake," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + Latin palus "a stake, prop, stay; wooden post, pole," from PIE *pak-slo- , from root *pag- /*pak- "to fasten" (see pact ). Sense of "pierce with a pointed stake" (as torture or punishment) first recorded 1610s. Related: Impaled ; impaling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
