Etymologically
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impeachment

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ.mənt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English empechement,[2][3][1] borrowed from Old French empechement, also empeschement and empeechement, modern empêchement,[4][5][6] from empeechier (“to hinder, impede”) (see impeach) and -ment.[4][5][2] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from about 1135, meaning hindrance and difficulty, and also accusation and prosecution.[7] The verb goes back to Late Latin impedicō (“to fetter, catch, entangle”), from in- and Latin pedica (“fetter, shackle”), from pēs (“foot”).[4][5] In the legal senses the OED notes that the word was treated as the equivalent of Medieval Latin impetītiō, from Latin impetō (“to attack, accuse”), with which it has no etymological connection.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An accusation or charge: 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon;[4] Etymonline dates the form enpechement to the late 14th century in this sense.[5] The Middle English Dictionary records the sense of hindrance or obstruction from 1447, in Bokenham.[3]

Semantic evolution

Like the French word, it first meant both a hindrance or obstacle (1432–1674) and an accusation (1387).[4][5] From 1548 to 1648 it also meant damage or injury.[4] Since 1569 it has meant a calling in question or discrediting, as of a witness's honesty.[4][2] The judicial sense, the accusation and prosecution of a public official for treason or another high crime, is recorded from the 1640s.[5][4] Johnson (1755) gave "hindrance; let; impediment" first, marking it as no longer in use.[8] In Britain impeachment by the House of Commons before the House of Lords is now rare;[9] Collins dates the last case to 1805.[9] In the United States it is a proceeding against a federal official.[9][2] The phrase the soft impeachment preserves the old general sense of accusation.[4]

Timeline

  • 1387 – an accusation, a charge.[4]
  • 1415 – without impeachment of waste, a legal reservation.[4]
  • 1432–1674 – a hindrance or obstacle (now obsolete).[4]
  • 1548–1648 – damage, injury (now obsolete).[4]
  • 1569 – a calling in question, discrediting.[4]
  • 1640s – the prosecution of an official for a high crime before a tribunal.[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A formal accusation brought against a public official for misconduct in office, by a body that has the power to try or remove them; in the United States, especially such a charge brought by the House of Representatives: The governor resigned before the impeachment could go ahead.[2][9][4]
  2. In Britain, the committal of a person, especially a minister, by the House of Commons for trial by the House of Lords (now rare).[9][4]
  3. A calling in question or discrediting, as of a witness's testimony.[2][4]
  4. (obsolete, 1432–1674) A hindrance or impediment.[4][2][8]
  5. (obsolete, 1548–1648) Damage or injury.[4][2]

Word family

  • nonimpeachment

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins