different between poniard vs impugn

English

Alternative forms

• poignard, poinard, poynard, punierd

Etymology

Borrowed from French poignard, from poing (“fist”), from Old French, from Latin p?gnus (“fist”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pew?-.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?nj?d/, /?p?nj??d/

Noun

poniard (plural poniards)

1. (now chiefly historical) A dagger typically having a slender square or triangular blade. [from 16th c.]
   • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.1:

     The sir King ha's wag'd with him six Barbary horses, / against the which he impon'd as I take it, sixe French / Rapiers and Poniards, with their assignes, as Girdle, / Hangers or so […].

   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol. IV, ch. 101:

     One of the tragic authors, finding himself assaulted in the dark, had, by way of poinard, employed upon his adversary's throat a knife which lay upon the table, for the convenience of cutting cheese […] .

   • 1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner:

     On this occasion I said nothing, but concealing his poniard in my clothes, I hasted up the mountain, determined to execute my purpose […].

Translations

Verb

poniard (third-person singular simple present poniards, present participle poniarding, simple past and past participle poniarded)

1. To stab with a poniard.
   • 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, I:

     Manfred […] would have poignarded the peasant in their arms.

Related terms

• impugn
• pugilism
• pugnacious
• repugn (repugnant)

References

• “poniard”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• “poniard” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "poniard" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

Anagrams

• padroni, pandori, paridon, poinard

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French impugner, from Latin impugn?, from im- + pugn? (“fight”), from pugnus (“fist”), as in English pugilism (“fighting with fists, boxing”); from Proto-Indo-European roots.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?pju?n/

• Homophone: impune

Verb

impugn (third-person singular simple present impugns, present participle impugning, simple past and past participle impugned)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To assault, attack.
2. (transitive) To verbally assault, especially to argue against an opinion, motive, or action; to question the truth or validity of.

Quotations

• 1859 — John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

  Let the opinions impugned be the belief in a God and in a future state, or any of the commonly received doctrines of morality.

• 1864 — Abraham Lincoln, Fourth State of the Union Address

  There have been much impugning of motives and much heated controversy as to the proper means and best mode of advancing the Union cause.

• 1872 — Benjamin Disraeli, Conservative Principles

  At home, at a period of immense prosperity, with a people contented and naturally loyal, we find to our surprise the most extravagant doctrines professed and the fundamental principles of our most valuable institutions impugned, and that too by persons of some authority.

• 1889 — Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, ch. xxv

  It is a hardy question, fair sir and Boss, since it doth go far to impugn the wisdom of even our holy Mother Church herself.

• 1922 — Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Chessmen of Mars, ch. 21

  He is not dead. When he revives he will return to his quarters with a fine tale of his bravery and there will be none to impugn his boasts.

Synonyms

• (to question the validity of): call into question, challenge, contest, contradict, deny, disavow, dispute, oppugn, negate

Antonyms

• (to question the validity of): authenticate, endorse, support

Derived terms

• impugnable
• impugner

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Muping, umping