Archaic: to impair or damage; to make worse in condition or quality.
From Old French 'empairer,' from 'en-' (in) + 'pair' (equal), with 'pair' related to Latin 'par.' The 'a-' prefix was added in Middle English.
This word shows us how 'impair' and 'apair' are cousins—both meaning to damage—but 'apair' lost the competition over centuries and faded from everyday speech.
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