Etymograph

English

impede

Impede comes from Latin impediō ‘to shackle’, from pēs ‘foot’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk, to step’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-1‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓds2‘foot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pets2‘foot’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēs3‘foot’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpediō3‘to shackle’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606impede3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pṓds
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pes
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English impede
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “That I may powre my Spirits in thine Eare,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pṓds‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓdsWiktionary, Latin pes‘foot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*petsWiktionary, Latin pes‘foot’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēsWiktionary, English impede‘foot’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpediōWiktionary, English impede‘to shackle’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606impedeWiktionary, English impede. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “That I may powre my Spirits in thine Eare,…”

The story

First attested use as a verb was in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, see quotations.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk, to step’

pilot, fetch, expedition, footing, impeachment, footed, fet, expedite, ped, fetter, pada, 49 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pṓds ‘foot’

feet, foot, podium, pug, pew, baht, puy, poy, tripos, 37 more

through Proto-Italic *pets ‘foot’

pie, pawn, quadruped, 13 more

through Latin pēs ‘foot’

pioneer, pedestrian, pedal, pedigree, pes, pedicure, petiole, centipede, peon, expeditious, pedometer, pedicel, pedicle, biped, 13 more

Today it means

verb To get in the way of; to hinder.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “impede”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *pṓds, Latin pes. 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 *ped- / impede

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