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impinge

[im-pinj]
verb (used without object), im·pinged, im·ping·ing.
  1. to make an impression; have an effect or impact (usually followed by on or upon): to impinge upon the imagination; social pressures that impinge upon one's daily life.
  2. to encroach; infringe (usually followed by on or upon): to impinge on another's rights.
  3. to strike; dash; collide (usually followed by on, upon, or against): rays of light impinging on the eye.
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verb (used with object), im·pinged, im·ping·ing.
  1. Obsolete. to come into violent contact with.
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Origin of impinge

1525–35; < Medieval Latin impingere to strike against, drive at, equivalent to Latin im- im-1 + -pingere, combining form of pangere to fasten, drive in, fix; see impact
Related formsim·ping·ent, adjectiveim·ping·er, nounim·pinge·ment, nounun·im·ping·ing, adjective
Can be confusedinfringe impinge
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

infringeintrudeencroachdisturbviolateinfluencemeddleobtrudetouchaffectpryinvade

Examples from the Web for impinged

Historical Examples

  • Bullets whizzed through the 'plane, and one or two impinged on the engine.

    The Sequel

    George A. Taylor

  • The corner of the raft had impinged against some ice that was piled on the beach.

    Klondike Nuggets

    E. S. Ellis

  • I knew all the symptoms so well—the things he had 'in him,' and the things outside him that impinged!

  • That was the lady's hand, flat open, impinged on the speaker's cheek.

    Bulldog Carney

    W. A. Fraser

  • It was revealed in many ways, but impinged upon the new President in only one.

    Lincoln

    Nathaniel Wright Stephenson

British Dictionary definitions for impinged

impinge

verb
  1. (intr; usually foll by on or upon) to encroach or infringe; trespassto impinge on someone's time
  2. (intr; usually foll by on, against, or upon) to collide (with); strike
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Derived Formsimpingement, nounimpinger, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin impingere to drive at, dash against, from pangere to fasten, drive in
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for impinged

impinge

v.

1530s, "fasten or fix forcibly," from Latin impingere "drive into, strike against," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + pangere "to fix, fasten" (see pact). Sense of "encroach, infringe" first recorded 1738. Related: Impinged; impinging.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper