impalement

English

Demonstrations of impalement. The one on the right shows how the result could be unrecognizable (hence quartering became preferred).

Alternative forms

• empalement (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French empalement; equivalent to impale +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

Gardenia flower projecting from the impalement of its enclosing calyx

impalement (countable and uncountable, plural impalements)

1. The act of torturing or executing someone by impaling them on a sharp stake.
2. (heraldry) The joining of two coats of arms on one shield.
3. A space fenced in, such as by palings, possibly in the form of an enclosure or cup.
4. (botany, obsolete) In the sense of an enclosure, the calyx of a flower. (In still older works, also spelt empalement.)
   • 1823, Charles Mead, The School Exercise:

     The parts of fructification are seven in number... The First part is the calyx, impalement, or flower cup.

Translations

act of torturing

• Arabic: خَوزَقَة
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 穿刺 (zh) (chuāncì), 刺穿 (zh) (cìchuān)

• Esperanto: palisumo
• French: empalement (fr) m
• Galician: empalamento (gl) m
• German: Pfählung f
• Japanese: 串刺し (ja) (くしざし, kushizashi)
• Norwegian: spidding f
• Polish: nabicie na pal n or pf, nabijanie na pal n or impf, nawlekanie na pal n or impf
• Russian: посаже́ние на́ кол n (posažénije ná kol)
• Spanish: empalamiento (es) m