impeach v
1. challenge the honesty or credibility of; as of witnesses
2. charge with an offense or misdemeanor; "The public officials were impeached"
3. charge with a crime or misdemeanor
4. bring an accusation against; level a charge against; "He charged the man with spousal abuse" [syn: accuse, incriminate, criminate]

Impeach \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.

See more meaning on Impeach...

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity and the outcome of which, depending on the country, can lead to the removal of that official from office or other punishment.

The word "impeachment" derives from Latin roots expressing the idea of becoming caught or entrapped, and has analogues in the modern French verb empêcher (to prevent) and the modern English impede. Medieval popular etymology also associated it (wrongly) with derivations from the Latin impetere (to attack). (In its more frequent and more technical usage, impeachment of a person in the role of a witness is the act of challenging the honesty or credibility of that person.)

The process should not be confused with a recall election. A recall election is usually initiated by voters and can be based on "political charges", for example mismanagement, whereas impeachment is initiated by a constitutional body (usually a legislative body) and is usually, but not always, based on an indictable offense. The process of removing the official is also different.

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