impede (v.)

c. 1600, back-formation from impediment, or else from Latin impedire "impede, be in the way, hinder, detain," literally "to shackle the feet," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + pes (genitive pedis) "foot," from PIE root *ped- "foot." Related: Impeded; impedes; impeding; impedient.

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to impede

impediment (n.)

c. 1400, from Old French empedement or directly from Latin impedimentum "hindrance," from impedire "impede," literally "to shackle the feet," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (from PIE root *en "in") + pes (genitive pedis) "foot," from PIE root *ped- "foot." Related: Impedimental.

impedance (n.)

"hindrance," especially and originally "resistance due to induction in an electrical circuit," 1886, from impede + -ance. The classically correct formation would be *impedience.

unimpeded

*en

*ped-

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Trends of impede

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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hinder

Old English hindrian "to harm, injure, impair, check, repress," from Proto-Germanic *hinderojan (source also of Old Norse hindra, Old Frisian hinderia, Dutch hinderen, Old High German hintaron, German hindern "to keep back"), derivative verb from a root meaning "on that side of,

obstruct

1610s, "to block or stop up with obstacles or impediments," a back-formation from obstruction or else from Latin obstructus, past participle of obstruere "build up, block, block up, build against, stop, bar, hinder," from ob "in front of, in the way of" (see ob-) + struere "to pi

jam

"to press tightly" (trans.), 1719; "to become wedged" (intrans.), 1706, of unknown origin, perhaps a variant of Middle English cham "to bite upon something; gnash the teeth" (late 14c.; see champ (v.)). Of a malfunction in the moving parts of machinery by 1851. Sense of "cause in

let

obsolete unless in legal contracts), late 12c., from archaic verb letten "to hinder," from Old English lettan "hinder, delay, impede...

impeach

formerly also empeach, late 14c., empechen, "to impede, hinder, prevent;" early 15c., "cause to be stuck, run (a ship) aground...," also "prevent (from doing something)," from Anglo-French empecher, Old French empeechier "to hinder, stop, impede; capture...

hobble

Transitive sense of "tie the legs (of an animal)" to impede or prevent free motion first recorded 1831, probably an alteration...

sargasso

section of the Atlantic in the interior of the great loop of the Gulf Stream, where this sort of weed abounds and could impede...

post

"a timber of considerable size set upright," from Old English post "pillar, doorpost," and from Old French post "post, upright beam," both from Latin postis "door, post, doorpost," in Medieval Latin "a beam, rod, pole," which is perhaps from Vulgar Latin *por- "forth," a variant

spot

c. 1200, "moral stain;" by mid-14c. as "speck, stain left by something on a surface;" probably at least in part from a variant of Old English splott "a spot, blot, patch (of land)," and partly from or related to Middle Dutch spotte "spot, speck." Other cognates are East Frisian s

stop

Middle English stoppen, "obstruct (a passage) with a physical barrier; close up by filling, stuffing, or plugging," from Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian "to stop up, stifle"), a general West Germanic word, cognate with Old Saxon stuppon, West Frisian stopje, Middle Low Germ

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updated on September 28, 2017

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Dictionary entries near impede

impeachable

impeachment

impeccable

impecunious

impedance

impede

impediment

impedimenta

impel

impeller

impend