impact

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɪmpækt/ (noun); /ɪmˈpækt/ (verb)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin impāctus, past participle of impingere (“to push into, drive into, strike against”),^[2][3][4][5] from in- (“into, on”) and pangere (“to fix, fasten”) (see impinge).^[3] The verb developed from the earlier participle and adjective impact, “pressed in” (1563);^[2][6] Random House treats both noun and verb as back-formations from impacted.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a participle and adjective, pressed in or firmly fixed (1563); as a verb, to press closely into something (1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny).^[6][8][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb first meant to press or pack something firmly in, a sense still found in impacted teeth.^[3][4] The noun, first recorded in a scientific context for the collision of bodies, is from 1781 in the OED and Merriam-Webster^[6][5][4] (1738 in Etymonline).^[3] Coleridge used it figuratively in 1817 for the effect of one thing on another,^[2][3][6] and the meaning of the impression a person or thing makes is found from 1946.^[8] The noun then influenced the verb,^[4] which took on the sense “to strike forcefully” in 1916^[2][3][6] and the figurative “to have an effect on” in 1935 (1910 in the Historical Thesaurus).^[2][3][9]

Timeline

• 1563 – as a participle, pressed in.^[6][2]
• 1601 – as a verb, to press closely into.^[6][2][5]
• 1781 – as a noun, a collision (1738 in Etymonline).^[6][5][3]
• 1817 – figurative effect (Coleridge).^[2][6][3]
• 1916 – as a verb, to strike against.^[6][2]
• 1935 – as a verb, to have an effect on.^[6][2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The striking of one body against another; a collision.
2. The force transmitted by a collision.
3. The effect or influence of one thing on another.
4. The power to make a strong, immediate impression.

Verb

1. To press or pack firmly together; to fix firmly in place.
2. To strike forcefully; to collide with.
3. To have an effect on; to affect.

Word family

• impaction
• impactful
• impactive
• impactite
• nonimpact
• postimpact
• impacter
• impact crater

Related words

• impinge
• impacted
• pact
• compact
• propagate

Usage notes

The verb meaning “to have an effect on” has been much criticized: in the American Heritage Dictionary's survey, 84 percent of its Usage Panel rejected impact on and 95 percent the transitive use,^[10] and the dictionary traces the dislike to an already figurative use of the noun.^[4] Random House, by contrast, called the new uses entirely standard.^[7] Wiktionary notes that affect or effect can usually replace the verb or noun to avoid the controversy.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
8. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin