impediment

English

Etymology

From Latin impedimentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪmˈpedɪmənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

impediment (plural impediments)

1. A hindrance; that which impedes or hinders progress.
   • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 2, Frankenstein^[1]:

     I had gazed upon the fortifications and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repined.

   Working in a noisy factory left him with a slight hearing impediment.

2. (chiefly plural) Baggage, especially that of an army; impedimenta

Synonyms

• hindrance
• obstruction
• obstacle
• See also Wikisaurus:hindrance

Translations

hindrance; that which impedes progress

• Czech: překážka (cs) f
• Dutch: hindernis (nl) f, obstakel (nl) n, belemmering (nl), beletsel (nl), impediment (nl)
• Finnish: este (fi)
• German: Hindernis (de) n, Behinderung (de) f
• Hungarian: akadály (hu)
• Ido: impedo (io), impedivo (io)

• Romanian: impediment (ro), piedică (ro), obstacol (ro)
• Russian: помеха (ru) (poméxa) f
• Scottish Gaelic: amaladh (gd) m
• Spanish: estorbo (es)
• Swedish: hinder (sv) n
• Telugu: ఆటంకం (aaTankam), అడ్డం (aDDam)

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989