Impediment \Im*ped"i*ment\, n. [L. impedimentum: cf. F.
impediment.]
That which impedes or hinders progress, motion, activity, or
effect.
Thus far into the bowels of the land Have we marched on
without impediment. --Shak.
Impediment in speech, a defect which prevents distinct
utterance.
Syn: Hindrance; obstruction; obstacle; difficulty;
incumbrance.
Usage: Impediment, Obstacle, Difficulty, Hindrance.
An impediment literally strikes against our feet,
checking our progress, and we remove it. An obstacle
rises before us in our path, and we surmount or remove
it. A difficulty sets before us something hard to be
done, and we encounter it and overcome it. A hindrance
holds us back for a time, but we break away from it.
The eloquence of Demosthenes was to Philip of
Macedon, a difficulty to be met with his best
recources, ant obstacle to his own ambition, and
an impedimen in his political career. --C. J.
Smith.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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