What does empanel mean?
To empanel is to formally select, enroll, and swear in a group of people — most commonly jurors — to serve on a jury for a trial or investigation. The word belongs almost entirely to the vocabulary of the courtroom: judges empanel juries, clerks empanel prospective jurors from voter rolls, and prosecutors empanel grand juries to consider indictments. Because of this narrow setting, "empanel" has a distinctly formal, even bureaucratic tone, and writers rarely use it metaphorically. The verb derives from Old French "panel," meaning a list of names written on a roll or parchment — a word related to "panel" in its older sense of a piece of cloth or parchment — combined with the prefix "em-," meaning "to put into." A closely related form, "impanel," is common in American English and means exactly the same thing. Knowing "empanel" is useful for following trial coverage and legal reporting, where it appears whenever a new jury must be assembled.
verbTo empanel is to select and enroll people to serve on a jury, or more broadly to enter a person's name on a list for official duty.
- To select and swear in people to serve as jurors for a trial.
- To enter someone's name on an official list or register, especially for jury or other public service.
"The judge ordered the clerk to empanel a new jury after two jurors were dismissed."
"It took the court three days to empanel an impartial jury for the high-profile fraud case."
"The grand jury was empaneled in January and served a term of six months."
Every jury that decides an American trial begins with this one legal verb — and it ultimately traces back to the Latin word for a piece of cloth.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of empanel
The verb "empanel" entered English in the late Middle Ages via Anglo-Norman legal French, formed from the prefix "em-" (from Latin in-) plus "panel," itself from Old French, denoting a roll or list of names — originally a piece of parchment or cloth. The underlying root is Latin "pannus," meaning cloth, which also gives us "pane" and "pannier." Its use has remained tied to the selection of juries since its earliest recorded legal usage.
How empanel is actually used
Chiefly used in legal contexts, so it carries a formal register; outside courtrooms it can sound stilted. The spelling "impanel" predominates in American English, while "empanel" is the usual British form. The past forms are "empaneled/empanelled" and "empaneled/empanelled" depending on regional spelling conventions (single "l" in US English, double "ll" often in UK English).
Easily confused with empanel
"Impanel" is simply the standard American spelling variant of "empanel," which is preferred in British English; the meanings are identical.