Where does “impede” come from?
Impede comes from Latin impedire, composed of the prefix in- (in) and pes (foot), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne (not) and ped- (foot).
impede (English): To get in the way of; to hinder
Definitions
- To get in the way of; to hinder
Ancestry of “impede”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | impedio | I hinder, impede, obstruct, hamper, thwart; I... |
| 2 | Latin | pēs | a foot, in its senses as |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |