Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Impalement"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Empalement \Em*pale"ment\, n. [Cf. F. empalement, fr. empaler.
See {Empale}.] [Written also {impalement}.]
1. A fencing, inclosing, or fortifying with stakes.
2. A putting to death by thrusting a sharpened stake through
the body.
3. (Her.) Same as {Impalement}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Impalement \Im*pale"ment\, n.
1. The act of impaling, or the state of being impaled.
--Byron.
2. An inclosing by stakes or pales, or the space so inclosed.
--H. Brooke.
3. That which hedges in; inclosure. [R.] --Milton.
4. (Her.) The division of a shield palewise, or by a vertical
line, esp. for the purpose of putting side by side the
arms of husband and wife. See {Impale}, 3.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
impalement
n : the act of piercing with a sharpened stake as a form of
punishment or torture
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