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impeachment

n.
US //ˌɪmˈpitʃmənt// UK //ɪmpˈiːtʃmənt// im·peach·ment
  1. 1 legal charge against an official (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Law

    the formal process of charging a high official, like a president, with a crime while they are in office.

    the formal process by which a legislative body initiates charges against a high-ranking government official for misconduct.

    Example

    The news reported on the impeachment of the president for breaking the law.

    Example

    The constitutional process of impeachment serves as a critical check on executive power, ensuring that no official is immune from legal accountability.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'of' followed by the official's title or name.
  2. 2 challenging a witness (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Law

    the act of showing that a witness in court is not telling the truth or cannot be trusted.

    the act of challenging the honesty or credibility of a witness during a trial, often by presenting prior inconsistent statements.

    Example

    The lawyer worked on the impeachment of the witness to win the case.

    Example

    The defense attorney focused on the impeachment of the star witness by highlighting several contradictions in his previous testimony.

    Usage

    Commonly appears in the phrase 'impeachment of a witness'.
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  1. 3 hindrance or obstruction (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    something that gets in the way or stops progress.

    a physical or metaphorical hindrance, impediment, or obstruction.

    Example

    The heavy snow was an impeachment to our travel plans.

    Example

    The rugged terrain proved a significant impeachment to the advancing army, slowing their progress toward the capital by several days.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is archaic; modern speakers almost exclusively use 'impeachment' in a legal or political context.
Origin

From Middle English empechement (“hindrance, impediment, obstacle, obstruction; legal accusation or charge; act of calling into question or discrediting; challenge to a claim or right”), and thence either: * from Middle English empechen, empeschen, empesche, enpechen, impechen (“to cause to get stuck; of a ship: to run aground; to block, obstruct; to hinder, impede; to prevent; to interfere with, harm; to criticize, disparage; to bring charges against; to formally accuse of treason or another high crime”) (from Anglo-Norman empecher, Old French empechier, empeechier) + -ment (suffix forming action nouns, concrete nouns, and nouns indicating a result or a condition or state); or * from Old French empechement, empeechement, empeschement (“obstacle”) (modern French empêchement (“impediment, obstacle”)), from empeechier (“to fetter; to hinder”), empescher (“to inhibit, prevent”) + -ment (suffix forming nouns from verbs). The English word is analysable as impeach + -ment. Old French empechier, empeechier and empescher (compare modern French empêcher) are derived from Late Latin impedicāre (“to catch; to entangle”), present active infinitive of Latin impedicō (“to entangle; to fetter”), from im- (variant of in-) + pedica (“fetter, shackle; snare, trap”) (from pēs (“foot”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“to step, walk; to fall, stumble”)) + -ō. In senses 1.2 (“accusation that a person has committed a crime”) and 1.3 (“act of impeaching or charging a public official with misconduct”), the word has been used in place of Latin impetere, the present active infinitive of impetō (“to assail, attack, rush upon”).

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