impugnare

impugnare¹ grip, hold in the fist

Etymology tree of impugnare¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin pūgnus

Catalan puny

French poing

Italian pugno

Italian impugnare

Romanian pumn

Spanish puño

From the same root · impugnare¹

French poignée ← pūgnus

Latin pugil ← pūgnus

Latin pugnō ← pūgnus

Italian pugnale ← pugno

Spanish puñal ← puño

Pronunciation

• /im.puɲˈɲa.re/^[1]

Forms

impugnare (first-person singular present impùgno, first-person singular past historic impugnài, past participle impugnàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

The verb for gripping is inherited from Vulgar Latin *impugnāre, a compound of in- (“into”) and a verb from Latin pugnus (“fist”).^[2][3][4] Meyer-Lübke glosses it “to take in the fist” and gives French empoigner, Old Occitan emponhar, Catalan empunyar, Spanish empuñar and Portuguese empunhar.^[5][1] DEI finds it only in Italian and western Romance.^[6]

Nocentini, Devoto–Oli, Sabatini–Coletti and Treccani treat it instead as formed in Italian, from Italian in- + pugno.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the 14th-century Tavola Ritonda, where a knight imbraccia lo scudo, impugna la lancia, e trae a fedire (“takes up his shield, grips his lance and charges to strike”).^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

Later writers use it above all for weapons: Berni's hero a due man Frusberta impugna, grasping his sword with both hands.^[11] The phrase impugnare le armi means to take up arms, also figuratively, and a joking line of Neri has a diner who la forchetta impugna.^[11][10] An old intransitive use “to make a fist” is obsolete.^[4][3] impugnatura, the grip or handle, is recorded from the 18th century.^[6] In heraldry impugnante describes a hand holding a sword or banner.^[10]

Timeline

• 14th century – The Tavola Ritonda has impugna la lancia.^[2]
• 17th century – Impugnato is recorded.^[6]
• 18th century – Impugnatura is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To grip, to hold firmly in the fist, especially a weapon or tool: Impugnò il martello e si mise al lavoro.^[3][8][10] Impugnare le armi: to take up arms, also figuratively.^[8][10]
2. (obsolete, intransitive) To make a fist.^[3][4]

Word family

• impugnatura

impugnare² contest, challenge

Pronunciation

• /im.puɲˈɲa.re/^[1]

Forms

impugnare (first-person singular present impùgno, first-person singular past historic impugnài, past participle impugnàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

The verb for contesting is learned: it is borrowed from Latin impugnō (“to attack; to oppose”), from pugnō (“to fight”) with a prefix meaning “against”.^{[2][7][3][12]} In Latin it meant to attack an army or a position, and then to oppose a person, an opinion or a law.^[12] The derivatives impugnatore and impugnazione come from impugnātor and impugnātiō, which keep the sense of fighting against.^[7][2] Spanish impugnar and French impugner, recorded from the 14th century, are the same learned word.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Giamboni, before 1292, in the sense “to contest with good reasons”.^[2] Nocentini dates the word to the second half of the 13th century.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian it also meant to make war on or assail: Matteo Villani has a town forte impugnato da' Tarlati (“hard pressed by the Tarlati”), and Catherine of Siena says that the flesh impugna contro lo spirito.^[10] impugnazione meant “battle” and “temptation” in Giordano da Pisa (1305–1306).^[2]

The legal sense, asking a court to review a trial or reform a ruling, is recorded from 1647, in Birago.^[2] Manzoni writes of privileges impugnati con vane proteste (“challenged with vain protests”).^[10] The legal noun impugnativa dates from 1891 according to Nocentini, while DELI's date is 1933.^[7][2]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Giamboni uses impugnare “to contest”.^[2]
• 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses impugnazione for a battle or temptation.^[2]
• Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses impugnatore.^[2]
• 1647 – The legal sense is recorded.^[2]
• 1673 – Impugnabile “that can be contested” is recorded.^[2]
• 1933 – Impugnativa appears in the Enciclopedia italiana.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To contest, to dispute an opinion or claim with arguments and evidence: Nessuno ha mai impugnato quei dati.^[3][4][13]
2. (law) To challenge a judgment or ruling by asking for its review, or to claim in court that an act such as a will or contract is invalid: Gli eredi hanno impugnato il lascito.^[8][4][9]
3. (archaic, literary) To attack, to make war on.^[3][9][10]

Word family

• impugnazione
• impugnabile
• impugnabilità
• impugnativa
• impugnatore
• impugnante