Im*peach"a*ble (?), a. That may be impeached; liable to impeachment;
chargeable with a crime.
Owners of lands in fee simple are not impeachable for waste.
Z. Swift.
Im*peach"er (?), n. One who impeaches.
Im*peach"ment (?), n. [Cf. F. empêchement.] The act of impeaching, or
the state of being impeached; as: (a) Hindrance; impediment;
obstruction. [Obs.]
Willing to march on to Calais, Without impeachment.
Shak.
(b) A calling to account; arraignment; especially, of a public officer
for maladministration.
The consequence of Coriolanus' impeachment had like to have been
fatal to their state.
Swift.
(c) A calling in question as to purity of motives, rectitude of
conduct, credibility, etc.; accusation; reproach; as, an impeachment of
motives. Shak.
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.
Im*pearl" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impearled (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Impearling.] [Pref. im- in + pearl: cf. F. emperler.] 1. To form into
pearls, or into that which resembles pearls. [Poetic]
Dewdrops which the sun Impearls on every leaf and every flower.
Milton.
2. To decorate as with pearls or with anything resembling pearls.
[Poetic]
With morning dews impearled.
Mrs. Browning.
The dews of the morning impearl every thorn.
R. Digby.
Im*pec`ca*bil"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. impeccabilité.] The quality of being
impeccable; exemption from sin, error, or offense.
Infallibility and impeccability are two of his attributes.
Pope.
Im*pec"ca*ble (?), a. [L. impeccabilis; pref. im- not + peccare to err,
to sin: cf. F. impeccable.] Not liable to sin; exempt from the
possibility of doing wrong. -- n. One who is impeccable; esp., one of a
sect of Gnostic heretics who asserted their sinlessness.
God is infallible, impeccable, and absolutely perfect.
P. Skelton.
Im*pec"can*cy (?), n. Sinlessness. Bp. Hall.
Im*pec"cant (?), a. Sinless; impeccable. Byron.
Im`pe*cu`ni*os"i*ty (?), n. The state of being impecunious. Thackeray.
Sir W. Scott.
Im"pe*cu"ni*ous (?), a. [L. im- not + pecunia money: cf. F.
impécunieux.] Not having money; habitually without money; poor.
An impecunious creature.
B. Jonson.
Im*pede" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impeded; p. pr. & vb. n. Impeding.]
[L. impedire, lit., to entangle the feet; pref. im- in + pes, pedis,
foot. See Foot, and cf. Impeach.] To hinder; to stop in progress; to
obstruct; as, to impede the advance of troops.
Whatever hinders or impedes The action of the nobler will.
Logfellow.
Im*ped"i*ble (?), a. Capable of being impeded or hindered. [R.] Jer.
Taylor.
Im*ped"i*ment (?), n. [L. impedimentum: cf. F. impediment.] That which
impedes or hinders progress, motion, activity, or effect.
Thus far into the bowels of the land Have we marched on without
impediment.
Shak.
Impediment in speech, a defect which prevents distinct utterance.
Syn. -- Hindrance; obstruction; obstacle; difficulty; incumbrance. --
Impediment, Obstacle, Difficulty, Hindrance. An impediment literally
strikes against our feet, checking our progress, and we remove it. An
obstacle rises before us in our path, and we surmount or remove it. A
difficulty sets before us something hard to be done, and we encounter
it and overcome it. A hindrance holds us back for a time, but we break
away from it.
The eloquence of Demosthenes was to Philip of Macedon, a difficulty
to be met with his best resources, an obstacle to his own ambition,
and an impediment in his political career.