blockade

C2+ Topic:Places & Geography

US /blɑˈkeɪd/ UK /blɒˈkeɪd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the sealing off of a place to prevent goods or people entering or leaving

The navy enforced a blockade of the enemy's principal port.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the sealing off of a place... barrier barricade obstruction siegeencirclementcordon embargo

Opposites

access opening passage

Word family

Derived forms blockaderblockading

Related forms block

Etymology

From block + -ade (on the model of French -ade / Spanish -ada), formed in the 17th century. Block derives from Middle Dutch or Old French bloc ('log, tree trunk'), of Germanic origin.

bloc Old French blok Middle Dutch

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# blockade

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /blɑˈkeɪd/
**IPA (UK):** /blɒˈkeɪd/

## Meanings
1. the sealing off of a place to prevent goods or people entering or leaving

## Examples
- The navy enforced a blockade of the enemy's principal port.

## Synonyms
- barrier
- barricade
- obstruction
- siege
- encirclement
- cordon
- embargo

## Antonyms
- access
- opening
- passage

## Derived Forms
- blockader
- blockading

## Related Forms
- block

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bloc
- Root: blok

## Etymology
From block + -ade (on the model of French -ade / Spanish -ada), formed in the 17th century. Block derives from Middle Dutch or Old French bloc ('log, tree trunk'), of Germanic origin.

## AI Etymology
Blockade comes from block + -ade (on the model of French -ade / Spanish -ada), formed in the 17th century. Block derives from Middle Dutch or Old French bloc ('log, tree trunk'), of Germanic origin. The historical trail runs through bloc in Old French and blok in Middle Dutch. Morphologically, blockade is transparent: it draws on block + -ade (on the model of French -ade / Spanish -ada), formed in the 17th century. Used as a noun and verb, blockade now means "the sealing off of a place to prevent goods or people entering or leaving", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as blockader and blockading and related forms such as block. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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