embargo

C2+ Topic:Places & Geography

US /ɪmˈbɑrɡoʊ/ UK /ɛmˈbɑːɡəʊ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an official ban on trade or commerce with a country

The embargo cut off the nation's access to foreign oil.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an official ban on trade or... ban prohibition restriction blockadeinterdictionproscription

Opposites

permission authorizationfree trade

Word family

Derived forms embargoed

Related forms bar barrier embarrass

Simplified etymology

Embargo entered English in the early 17th century from Spanish embargar, “to arrest” or “restrain.” It originally referred to an order preventing ships from entering or leaving a country’s ports.

Etymology

From Spanish embargo ('seizure, prohibition'), from embargar ('to impede, restrain'), from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, from in- ('in') + barra ('bar').

embargar Spanish barra Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# embargo

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

## Meanings
1. an official ban on trade or commerce with a country

## Examples
- The embargo cut off the nation's access to foreign oil.

## Synonyms
- ban
- prohibition
- restriction
- blockade
- interdiction
- proscription

## Antonyms
- permission
- authorization
- free trade

## Derived Forms
- embargoed

## Related Forms
- bar
- barrier
- embarrass

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: embargar
- Root: barra

## Etymology
From Spanish embargo ('seizure, prohibition'), from embargar ('to impede, restrain'), from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, from in- ('in') + barra ('bar').

## AI Etymology
Embargo comes from Spanish embargo ('seizure, prohibition'), from embargar ('to impede, restrain'), from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, from in- ('in') + barra ('bar'). Morphologically, the form is compositional: in- marks part of the visible structure, while the remaining element supplies the lexical base. In present use, it is used as a noun and verb meaning "an official ban on trade or commerce with a country", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as embargoed and related forms such as bar, barrier, and embarrass, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Spanish embargar and Latin barra, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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