Etymograph

English

embargo

Embargo comes from Spanish embargar ‘to arrest’, from Latin *imbarricāre ‘to bar’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-1‘to bear, carry’next step skipped: Proto-Germanic *barō
  2. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*barros1‘the bushy end’uncertain
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*barra2‘bar, barrier’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*imbarricāre2‘to bar’reconstructed
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presentembargar2‘to arrest’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1842embargo2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin barra
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English embargo
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizab, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “They were delighted with the idea of their mamma…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-Wiktionary, Latin barra‘to bear, carry’next step skipped: Proto-Germanic *barō
  2. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*barrosWiktionary, Latin barra‘the bushy end’uncertain
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*barraWiktionary, English embargo‘bar, barrier’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*imbarricāreWiktionary, English embargo‘to bar’reconstructed
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presentembargarWiktionary, English embargo‘to arrest’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1842embargoWiktionary, English embargo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizab, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “They were delighted with the idea of their mamma…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’

different, offer, difference, birth, reference, transfer, prefer, broad, bread, relative, suffer, bear, translation, relation, fortune, relate, burden, extraordinary, differ, referendum, frustration, bore, translate, fury, breeze, referee, fertility, borne, fertile, barn, berth, broom, phosphate, baron, extravagant, bark, fret, phosphorus, euphoria, defer, 155 more

through Vulgar Latin *barra ‘bar, barrier’

bar, barrel, barrack, barrette, 1 more

Today it means

noun An order by the government prohibiting ships from leaving port.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “embargo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin barra. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / embargo

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