impact English · revision 1864

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1563|origins=la pangere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɪmpækt/ ''(noun)''; /ɪmˈpækt/ ''(verb)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|impāctus]], past participle of [[m|la|impingere|t=to push into, drive into, strike against]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(MW Collegiate) from [[m|la|in-|t=into, on]] and [[m|la|pangere|t=to fix, fasten]] (see [[impinge]]).^(Etymonline) The verb developed from the earlier participle and adjective ''impact'', “pressed in” (1563);^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) Random House treats both noun and verb as back-formations from ''[[impacted]]''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb first meant to press or pack something firmly in, a sense still found in ''impacted teeth''.^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The noun, first recorded in a scientific context for the collision of bodies, is from 1781 in the OED and Merriam-Webster^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD 2000) (1738 in Etymonline).^(Etymonline) Coleridge used it figuratively in 1817 for the effect of one thing on another,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the meaning of the impression a person or thing makes is found from 1946.^(Barnhart 1988) The noun then influenced the verb,^(AHD 2000) which took on the sense “to strike forcefully” in 1916^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the figurative “to have an effect on” in 1935 (1910 in the Historical Thesaurus).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1563 – as a participle, pressed in.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1601 – as a verb, to press closely into.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1781 – as a noun, a collision (1738 in Etymonline).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1817 – figurative effect (Coleridge).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1916 – as a verb, to strike against.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1935 – as a verb, to have an effect on.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The striking of one body against another; a [[collision]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The force transmitted by a collision.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The effect or [[influence]] of one thing on another.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The power to make a strong, immediate impression.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To press or pack firmly together; to fix firmly in place.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To strike forcefully; to collide with.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To have an effect on; to [[affect]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==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,^(AHD) and the dictionary traces the dislike to an already figurative use of the noun.^(AHD 2000) Random House, by contrast, called the new uses entirely standard.^(RHWU) Wiktionary notes that ''affect'' or ''effect'' can usually replace the verb or noun to avoid the controversy.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}