impeachment

Meaning

1. (countable) The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
2. (countable) The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
3. (British, countable) The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
4. (US, countable) The act of calling into question or challenging the accuracy or propriety of something.
5. (uncountable) The state of being impeached.
6. (archaic, uncountable) Hindrance; impediment; obstruction.

Synonyms

accusation

denunciation

indictment

censure

denounce

denouncement

complaint

depreciation

disparagement

impeach

arraignment

Translations

acusación

incriminazione

Anklage

beschuldiging

aanklacht

Vorwurf

Beschuldigung

Amtsenthebungsverfahren

accusation

Anfechtung

accusa

Tadel

Infragestellung

acusació

impeachment

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: empechement

Inherited from Middle English: empechen

Cognate with French: empêchement

Cognate with French: empêcher

In summary

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”).