Impede
/ɪmˈpiːd/noun
To delay or obstruct the progress of something.
Did you know?“Impede” comes from Latin impedicare, meaning “to shackle or catch in the feet,” from ped- for “foot,” the same root behind pedestrian and centipede.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ped-
“foot”
Latin
Latin
pedis
“of a foot”
Latin
Latin
impedicare
“to shackle, fetter, or entangle by the feet”
Old French
Old French
empedier
“to hinder or obstruct”
Middle English
English
impeden
“to hinder or delay”
Modern English
English
impede
“to hinder or obstruct”
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