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Glite Dictionary
to empale

to empale

9.9
To push a sharp stick through something
  • verb
  • /ɪmˈpeɪl/
  • NSFW
translation icon : empalar
  • The hunter carefully empaled the fish on a sharp stick to prepare it for grilling.

Examples

  • She empaled the piece of meat on the skewer before placing it over the fire.

  • That from your princely person you remove this Spencer as a putrefying branch that deads the royal vine, whose golden leaves empale your princely head.

    Edward II (1991)

  • During the medieval festival, actors performed a play in which a character was empaled as part of the story.

Synonyms

to pierce
vsto empale
110 3.5

To make a hole in something with a sharp object like a needle

is narrower, implying forceful penetration that fixes the object in place
to impale
vsto empale
  • Offensive
26 7.7

Push a sharp object through a person or animal

is the same action but names use of a long pointed pole
to spike
vsto empale
  • NSFW
17 3.7

To push a sharp point through something to hold it

is focused on violent piercing or holding someone, not fastening
to stake
vsto empale
  • Offensive
10 9.9

To kill a person by driving a sharp wooden post through the chest

is similar but does not require causing death
to transfix
vsto empale
  • NSFW
7.9

Push a sharp stick through something to hold it in place

is the action stressing being fixed to a long pointed support

How Deep

to empale
  • NSFW
9.9
to skewer
21 4.6
to stab
  • NSFW
459 2.7
to pierce
110 3.5
poke
4 2.5

Surface Forms

empale infinitive
empaled past
empaled past participle
empaling present participle
empales third person singular

Morphology

empale = pale (opaque) = em + pale

The base 'pale' here means 'stake' (an archaic sense) which is not known to most learners who know 'pale' only as 'light-coloured', so the formation does not help infer the meaning.

Etymology

Empale comes from the Latin word palus, which means 'stake' or 'post', and is related to English palisade, a fence made of stakes. So to empale is to put someone or something onto a sharp stake or pole, which explains the modern meaning 'to pierce or transfix with a sharp stake or point'.