Word of the Day

impawn \im-PAWN\,
verb:
1. to put in pawn; pledge.
2. to put in pawn; pledge.

Go to the king; and let there be impawn'd Some surety for a safe return again
-- William Shakespeare, "King Henry IV," 1591

A wise man will never impawn his future being and action, and decide beforehand what he shall do in a given extreme event.
-- Elizabeth P. Peabody, "Aesthetic Papers," 2005

And yet, God knows, I dare and I will boldly impawn his temper, that he dares meet and cooperate until we are assayed and proven.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson," 1838

Impawn entered English in the late 1500s from the Old French pan meaning "pledge" or "security."

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