impediment

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A hindrance; that which impedes or obstructs progress; impedance.

   I require and charge you (as you will aunswere at the dreadefull daye of iudgemente, when the secretes of all hartes shalbee disclosed) that if either of you doe knowe any impedimente why ye maie not bee lawfully ioyned together in matrimonie, that ye confesse it.

2. 2
   noun

   A disability, especially one affecting the hearing or speech.

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

3. 3
   noun

   Baggage, especially that of an army; impedimenta.

   We were all on foot, officers and men alike. Our horses, baggage, and impediments had been left at Brashear to follow the column of General Emory.

4. 4
   noun

   any structure that makes progress difficult

5. 5
   noun

   something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

Etymology

From Middle English impediment, borrowed from Latin impedimentum.