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Webster 1913 Edition
Impeachment
Im-peach′ment
,Noun.
[Cf. F.
empêchement
.] The act of impeaching, or the state of being impeached
; as: (a)
Hindrance; impediment; obstruction.
[Obs.]
(b)
A calling to account; arraignment; especially, of a public officer for maladministration.
(c)
A calling in question as to purity of motives, rectitude of conduct, credibility, etc.; accusation; reproach;
as, an
. impeachment
of motivesShak.
☞ In England, it is the privilege or right of the House of Commons to impeach, and the right of the House of Lords to try and determine impeachments. In the United States, it is the right of the House of Representatives to impeach, and of the Senate to try and determine impeachments.
Articles of impeachment
. See under
– Article
. Impeachment of waste
(Law)
, restraint from, or accountability for, injury; also, a suit for damages for injury.
Abbott.
Webster 1828 Edition
Impeachment
IMPE'ACHMENT
,Noun.
1.
An accusation or charge brought against a public officer for maladministration in his office. In Great Britain, it is the privilege or right of the house of commons to impeach, and the right of the house of lords to try and determine impeachments. In the U. States, it is the right of the house of representatives to impeach, and of the senate to try and determine impeachments. In Great Britain, the house of peers, and in the U. States,the senate of the U.States, and the senates in the several states, are the high courts of impeachment.2.
The act of impeaching.3.
Censure; accusation; a calling in question the purity of motives or the rectitude of conduct, &c. This declaration is no impeachment of his motives or of his judgment.4.
The act of calling to account, as for waste.5.
The state of being liable to account, as for waste.Definition 2024
impeachment
impeachment
English
Alternative forms
- empeachment (obsolete)
Noun
impeachment (plural impeachments)
- The act of impeaching a public official, either elected or appointed, before a tribunal charged with determining the facts of the matter.
- The state of being impeached.
- A demonstration in a court of law, or before another finder of fact, that a witness was ingenuine before, and therefore, is less likely to tell the truth now.
- (archaic) Hindrance; impediment; obstruction.
- c. 1598, William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, Scene 6,
- […] tell thy king I do not seek him now; / But could be willing to march on to Calais, / Without impeachment:
- 1737, Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, translated by William Whiston, Book 9, Chapter 8,
- Now Hazael, king of Syria, fought against the Israelites and their king Jehu, and spoiled the eastern parts of the country beyond Jordan […] and this without impeachment from Jehu, who made no haste to defend the country when it was under this distress
- 1952, C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Collins, 1998, Chapter 12,
- " […] And here is as great an adventure as ever I heard of, and here, if we turn back, no little impeachment of all our honors."
- c. 1598, William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, Scene 6,
Related terms
Translations
the act of impeaching a public official
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