impact

Forms

impact n (plural impacturi)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French impact;^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} DEX, MDA2, DILF and Marcu also name a second source, borrowed from Latin impactus (“a striking against”), while the DN and Wiktionary give only the French noun.^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} The French noun is a late borrowing, of 1824, from Latin impactum, the neuter past participle of impingō (“to strike against”), itself from pangō (“to fix, drive in”).^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dimitrescu's dictionary of recent words has a press quotation of June 1974, “in the second of the impact with the unexpected”.^[8] MDA2's first record is the DEX of 1975.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense, the collision of two bodies, is quoted from 1976 on, for a giant meteorite striking the Moon.^[8] In the press of the later 1970s the word spread to “shock, surprise” (an emotional impact), to “contact, meeting” (a play's impact on its audience) and to “influence, effect”.^[8] A columnist of 1984 mocked one such use by quoting the dictionary definition “collision, incidence”.^[8] French had already taken the figurative sense “effect, influence” in about 1955.^[7] Physics keeps punct de impact “point of impact”.^[6][3]

Timeline

• 1974 – the first press quotation, “collision with the unexpected”.^[8]
• 1975 – “shock” in a theatre review, and the first dictionary record in the DEX.^[8][3]
• 1976 – the physical sense, a meteorite's impact on the Moon.^[8]
• 1979 – “influence” and “contact with the public”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (formal) A collision of two or more bodies.^[2][3][1]
2. The influence or effect of an idea, a work and the like on people or events: Cartea a avut un impact puternic asupra tinerilor.^[2][3]
3. A shock; a surprise.^[2][3]
4. (physics) punct de impact: the point where a projectile hits its target.^[3][6]

Related words

• French impact
• Latin impactus

Usage notes

The plural is impacturi.^[2][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 492
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1117
4. ^ a b Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. impact
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. impact
6. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. impact
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. impact