IMPEACHING

Verb

impeaching

present participle of impeach

Source: Wiktionary


IMPEACH

Im*peach", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impeached; p. pr. & vb. n. Impeaching.] Etym: [OE. empeechier to prevent, hinder, bar, F. empĂŞcher, 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)

Definition: 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.

Im*peach", n.

Definition: Hindrance; impeachment. [Obs.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

16 November 2024

LEAVE

(verb) go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness; “She left a mess when she moved out”; “His good luck finally left him”; “her husband left her after 20 years of marriage”; “she wept thinking she had been left behind”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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