Impeaching

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process whereby an official is formally accused of unlawful conduct and may face removal from office is essential in governance
2. It involves the legal procedure of charging a high-ranking authority with misconduct, which could result in their ousting
3. The act of bringing formal charges against a government officer accused of wrongdoing and potentially subject to removal from their position

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "impeaching" is that its root meant something physical: Latin "impedicāre" meant "to fetter," to shackle a person's feet, as one would tie a horse or prisoner. The idea of restraint then travelled through Old French "empeechier," "to hinder," and Anglo-Norman "empecher" into Middle English as "empechen," meaning to hinder or obstruct someone's progress. Hindrance is the thread that connects the shackle to the modern sense. Something that impedes you blocks your movement, and in the later Middle Ages English legal and political usage came to apply that notion to a person's standing or conduct, so that accusing someone of wrongdoing was a way of obstructing their office. The modern sense of formally charging a public official with misconduct grows from that legal ground. This is a verb form, the present participle of "impeach," so its meaning and history are those of the base word. The French cousin "empêcher" still means "to prevent," keeping the original sense of obstruction alive across the Channel.

Synonyms: accusing, charging