To pierce or stab something with a sharp pointed object, or to push a sharp object through something.
From Old French 'empaler' combining 'em-' (to put into) and 'pale' (stake or pointed object). The Latin root 'palus' means stake or pointed stick, evolving to mean piercing with such objects.
Medieval executioners used impalement as a brutal punishment method, which is why many historical accounts describe it so vividly—the word carries the weight of that dark history into how we use it today.
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