Impacte

Impacte is a Catalan noun meaning impact, effect, influence, or collision. It denotes the consequence of a cause on a system, object, person, or environment. The term is used both for physical impact, such as a collision, and for figurative effects, such as social or economic influence.

In contemporary usage, impacte appears across fields including policy, economics, environment, engineering, and communications. Common phrases include impacte ambiental (environmental impact), impacte social (social impact), and impacte econòmic (economic impact). In environmental planning, it is typical to find expressions like avaluació d'impacte ambiental or estudi d'impacte ambiental, referring to assessments of a project’s or policy’s environmental consequences.

Grammar-wise, impacte is a masculine noun in Catalan. Its plural is impactes, and adjectives or determiners agree in number and gender (per exemple, un impacte important, dos impactes importants). The term frequently appears in formal and technical writing, where precise description of consequences is needed.

Etymologically, impacte derives from Latin and Romance-language lineage, with a form that aligns with Catalan phonology and spelling. While closely related terms exist in other languages, impacte as a standalone word is primarily used in Catalan texts. In other languages, related concepts are expressed with different spellings or synonyms, but the idea of a consequence or effect remains central.