Empales

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To pierce, transfix, or impale with a sharp object; to fix or fasten firmly onto a pointed stake; to cause severe injury or death by stabbing through the body
2. To thrust or impale by driving a pointed instrument through; to secure or attach by piercing with a spike; to inflict mortal wounding by penetration through the flesh
3. To spear or pierce with a sharp implement; to anchor or hold immovably by piercing; to cause fatal damage by thrusting a pointed object through the victim's body

Etymology: "Empales" is the third-person singular present form of "empale," so the word itself is simply the verb with its usual "-s" ending. "Empale" is formed from the prefix "em-" and "pale," which in this sense means a pointed stake or spike, a usage that goes back to the Latin "palus," meaning a stake. Put together, the verb means to fix someone or something on a stake or spike, which is why it describes piercing with a sharp point.

Synonyms: impales, pierces, stabs, spikes, skewers