Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity and the outcome of which, depending on country can lead to the removal of that official from office or other punishment. The word ""impeachment"" derives from Latin roots expressing the idea of becoming caught or entrapped, and has analogues in the modern French verb empêcher (to prevent) and the modern English impede. Medieval popular etymology also associated it (wrongly) with derivations from the Latin impetere (to attack).