Had a strong effect or influence on something; pressed or packed firmly together.
From Latin 'impactus' (driven into), combining 'in-' (into) + 'pangere' (to drive/fix). Originally a physical term, it evolved to describe any forceful effect, and became especially common in modern English for describing consequences.
The word 'impact' originally meant a collision or being driven into something physical—like an asteroid impact—but now we use it for invisible effects like 'social media impacted society,' showing how language stretches metaphors from physical to abstract meanings.
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