im·pale

[im-peyl]
verb (used with object), im·paled, im·pal·ing.
1.
to fasten, stick, or fix upon a sharpened stake or the like.
2.
to pierce with a sharpened stake thrust up through the body, as for torture or punishment.
3.
to fix upon, or pierce through with, anything pointed.
4.
to make helpless as if pierced through.
5.
Archaic. to enclose with or as if with pales or stakes; fence in; hem in.
6.
Heraldry.
a.
to marshal (two coats of arms, as the family arms of a husband and wife) on an escutcheon party per pale.
b.
(of a coat of arms) to be combined with (another coat of arms) in this way.
Also, empale (for defs 1–5).

Origin:
1545–55; < Medieval Latin impālāre, equivalent to Latin im- im-1 + pāl(us) pale2 + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive ending

Related forms
im·pal·er, noun
im·pale·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
impale or empale (ɪmˈpeɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (often foll by on, upon, or with)
1.  to pierce with a sharp instrument: they impaled his severed head on a spear
2.  archaic to enclose with pales or fencing; fence in
3.  heraldry to charge (a shield) with two coats of arms placed side by side
 
[C16: from Medieval Latin impālāre, from Latin im- (in) + pāluspale²]
 
empale or empale
 
—vb
 
[C16: from Medieval Latin impālāre, from Latin im- (in) + pāluspale²]
 
im'palement or empale
 
—n
 
em'palement or empale
 
—n
 
im'paler or empale
 
—n
 
em'paler or empale
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

impale
1530, "to enclose with stakes, fence in," from M.L. impalare "to push onto a stake," from L. in- "in" + pallus "pole." Sense of "pierce with a pointed stake" as torture or punishment first recorded 1613.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It is a projection that has the potential to either impale or entangle.
Impale insulation over anchors and attach speed washers.
He expected them to come in on a high tide and impale their craft on his
  barriers.
To immobilize prey, the shrike will often impale it on cactus spines.
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puncture
punch
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