[Origin: 1350–1400; ME empechen, enpeshen < AF empecher < LL impedicāre to fetter, trap, equiv. to L im-im-1+ pedic(a) a fetter (deriv. of pésfoot) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re inf. suffix]
To charge (a public official) with improper conduct in office before a proper tribunal.
To challenge the validity of; try to discredit: impeach a witness's credibility.
[Middle English empechen, to impede, accuse, from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Late Latin impedicāre, to entangle : Latin in-, in; see in-2 + Latin pedica, fetter; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]
im·peach'er n., im·peach'ment n.
Word History: Nothing hobbles a President so much as impeachment, and there is an etymological as well as a procedural reason for this. The word impeach can be traced back through Anglo-Norman empecher to Late Latin impedicāre, "to catch, entangle," from Latin pedica, "fetter for the ankle, snare." Thus we find that Middle English empechen, the ancestor of our word, means such things as "to cause to get stuck fast," "hinder or impede," "interfere with," and "criticize unfavorably." A legal sense of empechen is first recorded in 1384. This sense, which had previously developed in Old French, was "to accuse, bring charges against."
Usage Note: When an irate citizen demands that a disfavored public official be impeached, the citizen clearly intends for the official to be removed from office. This popular use of impeach as a synonym of "throw out" (even if by due process) does not accord with the legal meaning of the word. As recent history has shown, when a public official is impeached, that is, formally accused of wrongdoing, this is only the start of what can be a lengthy process that may or may not lead to the official's removal from office. In strict usage, an official is impeached (accused), tried, and then convicted or acquitted. The vaguer use of impeach reflects disgruntled citizens' indifference to whether the official is forced from office by legal means or chooses to resign to avoid further disgrace.
c.1380, "to impede, hinder, prevent," from Anglo-Fr. empecher, from O.Fr. empeechier "hinder" (12c.), from L.L. impedicare "to fetter, catch, entangle," from L. in- "in" + pedica "shackle," from pes (gen. pedis) "foot." Sense of "accuse a public officer of misconduct" first recorded 1568, via confusion with L. impetere "attack, accuse."
Main Entry: im·peach Pronunciation: im-'pEch Function: transitive verb Etymology: Anglo-French empecher, from Old French empeechier to hinder, from
Late Latin impedicare to fetter, from Latin in- + pedica fetter, from ped-pes foot 1: to charge with a crime or misconduct; specifically: to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal (as the U.S. Senate) with misconduct in office —see also Article I and Article II of the CONSTITUTION in the back matter NOTE: Impeachment is the first step in removing an officer from office. The president,
vice president, and other federal officers (as judges) may be impeached by the House of Representatives. (Members of Congress themselves are not removed by being impeached and tried, but rather are
expelled by a two-thirds majority vote in the member's house.) The House draws up articles of impeachment that itemize the charges and their factual bases. The articles of impeachment, once approved by
a simple majority of the House members, are then submitted to the Senate, thereby impeaching the officer. The Senate then holds a trial, at the conclusion of which each member votes for or against
conviction on each article of impeachment. Two-thirds of the Senate members present must vote in favor of conviction. Once convicted, the officer can be removed from office. Although the Constitution
specifies that an officer is to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, impeachment can also occur for misconduct that is not necessarily criminal (as violation of the Constitution). Because
impeachment is the first step taken to remove an officer from office impeach is often used in general contexts to refer to the removal itself, but that is not its specific legal meaning. An
officer generally cannot be impeached for acts done prior to taking office. 2: to cast doubt on: as a: to attack the validity of (a judgment or verdict) because of
judicial or juror misconduct b: to challenge the credibility of (a witness) or the validity of (a witness's testimony) <a witness, including a criminal defendant who testifies in his
own behalf, may be impeached on the ground of former conviction —W. Railroad LaFave and A. W. Scott, Junior> —see also impeachment evidence at EVIDENCE —compare REHABILITATE NOTE: A
witness may be impeached by character evidence or circumstantial evidence relating to the credibility of the witness, and esp. on the grounds of prior convictions, prior inconsistent statements,
contradiction by other evidence, and the witness's reputation for truth, prior acts of misconduct, and partiality. —im·peach·ableadjective
—im·peach·mentnoun
Ac*cuse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accused; p. pr. & vb. n. Accusing.] [OF. acuser, F. accuser, L. accusare, to call to account, accuse; ad + causa cause, lawsuit. Cf. Cause.]1. To charge with, or declare to have committed, a crime or offense; (Law) to charge with an offense, judicially or by a public process; -- with of; as, to accuse one of a high crime or misdemeanor. Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. --Acts xxiv. 13. We are accused of having persuaded Austria and Sardinia to lay down their arms. --Macaulay. 2. To charge with a fault; to blame; to censure. Their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. --Rom. ii. 15. 3. To betray; to show. [L.] --Sir P. Sidney. Syn: To charge; blame; censure; reproach; criminate; indict; impeach; arraign. Usage: To Accuse, Charge, Impeach, Arraign. These words agree in bringing home to a person the imputation of wrongdoing. To accuse is a somewhat formal act, and is applied usually (though not exclusively) to crimes; as, to accuse of treason. Charge is the most generic. It may refer to a crime, a dereliction of duty, a fault, etc.; more commonly it refers to moral delinquencies; as, to charge with dishonesty or falsehood. To arraign is to bring (a person) before a tribunal for trial; as, to arraign one before a court or at the bar public opinion. To impeach is officially to charge with misbehavior in office; as, to impeach a minister of high crimes. Both impeach and arraign convey the idea of peculiar dignity or impressiveness.
Ap*peach"\, v. t. [OE. apechen, for empechen, OF. empeechier, F. emp[^e]cher, to hinder. See Impeach.] To impeach; to accuse; to asperse; to inform against; to reproach. [Obs.] And oft of error did himself appeach. --Spenser.
Dis*patch"\ (?; 224), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispatched; p. pr. & vb. n. Dispatching.] [OF. despeechier, F. d['e]p[^e]cher; prob. from pref. des- (L. dis-) + (assumed) LL. pedicare to place obstacles in the way, fr. L. pedica fetter, fr. pes, pedis, foot. See Foot, and cf. Impeach, Despatch.] [Written also despatch.]1. To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform. Ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we The business we have talked of. --Shak. [The] harvest men . . . almost in one fair day dispatcheth all the harvest work. --Robynson (More's Utopia). 2. To rid; to free. [Obs.] I had clean dispatched myself of this great charge. --Udall. 3. To get rid of by sending off; to send away hastily. Unless dispatched to the mansion house in the country . . . they perish among the lumber of garrets. --Walpole. 4. To send off or away; -- particularly applied to sending off messengers, messages, letters, etc., on special business, and implying haste. Even with the speediest expedition I will dispatch him to the emperor's cou??. --Shak. 5. To send out of the world; to put to death. The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords. --Ezek. xxiii. 47. Syn: To expedite; hasten; speed; accelerate; perform; conclude; finish; slay; kill.
Im*peach"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impeached; p. pr. & vb. n. Impeaching.] [OE. empeechier to prevent, hinder, bar, F. emp[^e]cher, L. impedicare to entangle; pref. im- in + pedica fetter, fr. pes, pedis, foot. See Foot, and Appeach, Dispatch, Impede.]1. To hinder; to impede; to prevent. [Obs.] These ungracious practices of his sons did impeach his journey to the Holy Land. --Sir J. Davies. A defluxion on my throat impeached my utterance. --Howell. 2. To charge with a crime or misdemeanor; to accuse; especially to charge (a public officer), before a competent tribunal, with misbehavior in office; to cite before a tribunal for judgement of official misconduct; to arraign; as, to impeach a judge. See Impeachment. 3. Hence, to charge with impropriety; to dishonor; to bring discredit on; to call in question; as, to impeach one's motives or conduct. And doth impeach the freedom of the state. --Shak. 4. (Law) To challenge or discredit the credibility of, as of a witness, or the validity of, as of commercial paper. Note: When used in law with reference to a witness, the term signifies, to discredit, to show or prove unreliable or unworthy of belief; when used in reference to the credit of witness, the term denotes, to impair, to lessen, to disparage, to destroy. The credit of a witness may be impeached by showing that he has made statements out of court contradictory to what he swears at the trial, or by showing that his reputation for veracity is bad, etc. Syn: To accuse; arraign; censure; criminate; indict; impair; disparage; discredit. See Accuse.
Im*pede"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impeded; p. pr. & vb. n. Impeding.] [L. impedire, lit., to entangle the feet; pref. im- in + pes, pedis, foot. See Foot, and cf. Impeach.] To hinder; to stop in progress; to obstruct; as, to impede the advance of troops. Whatever hinders or impedes The action of the nobler will. --Logfellow.
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