maim

The word 'maim' has a journey through the languages of power and conquest. It entered English in the 14th century from the Anglo-Norman French mahaignier, meaning to wound or mutilate. This Old French term is thought to derive from a Germanic root, perhaps related to the Old High German magan meaning "to be able" or "to have power." The underlying logic is starkly physical: to maim someone is to deprive them of a fundamental power or ability, such as the use of a limb. Over centuries, its meaning narrowed from general wounding to specify the permanent, crippling loss of a bodily function, a sense that retains the original concept of a stolen capability.

The word is a simplex form. It entered Middle English from the Anglo-Norman French mahaignier, meaning to injure or wound. This Old French term is likely of Germanic origin, possibly related to a root meaning "power" or "ability," with the injury implying a removal of that power.