What does impaneling mean?
Impaneling is the formal process of selecting and appointing people to serve together as a panel, especially a jury. In its verb form, impanel means to choose or formally install such members; impaneling names the activity or serves as the present participle of that verb. The word appears most often in legal reporting and court procedures: after prospective jurors have been screened, the judge or clerk impanels them, formally establishing the group and its responsibilities. Unlike the more general words selecting or appointing, impaneling implies a group organized to deliberate, judge, or make decisions, and it often carries the procedural atmosphere of a courtroom. The spelling impaneling is standard in American English, while British usage commonly writes impanelling. Although it may sound administrative, impaneling marks a consequential transition: an assembled group becomes an officially constituted body, most famously a jury that will consider a particular case.
The formal selection and appointment of people as members of a panel, especially a jury.
"The impaneling of the jury was delayed because an additional prospective juror was required."
The noun is relatively uncommon outside legal and procedural contexts.
As the present participle of impanel, to select or formally appoint people as members of a panel, especially a jury.
"The clerk is impaneling the alternate jurors before the trial begins."
This form is primarily used as a present participle or gerund.
This plural is rare and is used when referring to separate instances of selecting or appointing a panel.
"The report documented the impanelings of two separate grand juries."
Impaneling is the legal ritual that transforms a group of selected citizens into an officially constituted jury.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does impaneling come from?
English impanel was formed during the Middle English period from an Anglo-Norman or Old French verb meaning to place someone on a panel or select someone for a jury. Its second element, panel, came through Old French from Medieval Latin panella and ultimately relates to Latin patella, a shallow dish. The modern form impaneling is the gerund or present participle of impanel and is also used as a noun for the resulting formal process.
Related word forms
How impaneling is actually used
The word is formal and associated especially with judicial and legal procedure. American usage normally spells it with one l in -eling, while British usage commonly uses impanelling.
Easily confused with impaneling
Paneling is woodwork used to cover or decorate a surface, whereas impaneling is the selection and formal appointment of panel or jury members.
Empaneling is a variant spelling of impaneling and does not represent a different meaning.