Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “impeachment” come from?

Impeachment comes from Middle English empechement, from Middle English empechen, from Old French -ment and Old French empecher, from Latin impedicare, from Latin in- and Latin pes meaning foot.

impeachment (English): The act of calling into question or challenging...

Definitions

  1. The act of calling into question or challenging...

Ancestry of “impeachment”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishempechementhindrance, impediment, obstacle, obstruction;...
2Middle EnglishempechenTo hinder; to impede; To formally accuse
3Anglo-Normanempecher—
4Old Frenchempeechierto fetter; to hinder
5LatinimpedicoI fetter; I entangle
6Latinpēdica—
7Latinpēs—
8Ancient Greekμέτρονsomething used to measure: measure, rule, weight;...
9Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
10Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
11Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
12Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “impeachment”

  • impeachment
  • импичмент
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →