impeach

Alternative forms

• empeach (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Old French empeechier (“to hinder”) (French empêcher), from Latin impedicō, impedicāre (“I fetter”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpiːtʃ/
• Rhymes: -iːtʃ

Verb

impeach (third-person singular simple present impeaches, present participle impeaching, simple past and past participle impeached)

1. To hinder, impede, or prevent.
   • Sir J. Davies

     These ungracious practices of his sons did impeach his journey to the Holy Land.

   • Howell

     A defluxion on my throat impeached my utterance.

2. To bring a legal proceeding against a public official.
   • President Clinton was impeached by the House in November 1999, but since the Senate acquitted him, he was not removed from office.
3. To charge with impropriety; to discredit; to call into question.
4. (law) To demonstrate in court that a testimony under oath contradicts another testimony from the same person, usually one taken during deposition.

Anagrams

• aphemic