Obstacle Course Vocabulary

This list celebrates the spirit of perserverence by offering a catalog of discouraging words, terms associated with setbacks and the frustration of progress. Although they vary in severity, most of these words deal with temporary roadblocks on one's path -- not snuffing out the candle of inspiration or determination, but just making it flicker. Here are 15 words and some details of their etymologies.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. impede
    be a hindrance or obstacle to
    The infected skin becomes thicker, impeding the frog’s ability to absorb water and electrolytes through its skin, and eventually leading to cardiac arrest.
    —Time Dec 3, 2014
    From Latin impedire "to be in the way, detain." Literally, impedire means "to shackle the feet."
  2. hinder
    be an obstacle to
    Efforts to tackle Ebola have been hindered by fierce resistance from local communities with a history of suspicion towards any outside intervention.
    —BBC Nov 26, 2014
    From Old English hindrian, "to harm, repress." From a root meaning "on that side of, behind." The metaphorical sense is then "to put or keep back."
  3. inhibit
    limit the range or extent of
    He said discussion is inhibited in Maine because commissioners ask themselves “Am I going to look like a dope?” for raising a certain question.
    —Washington Times Oct 31, 2014
    From Latin inhibere "to hold in, hold back."
  4. hamper
    prevent the progress or free movement of
    Fewer educational opportunities for disadvantaged individuals had the effect of "lowering social mobility and hampering skills development," the report warned.
    —BBC Dec 8, 2014
    From French hamper, "to impede." Interestingly, this definition of hamper may be related to the other defintion, like that found in laundry hamper roughly "a place to put things" through a nautical definition of hamper "things important for a ship but in the way at certain times."
  5. thwart
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    His comeback was thwarted by a troublesome hip, and he had surgery last year that was just short of a full hip replacement.
    —Washington Times Dec 4, 2014
    Probably from Old Norse Thverr "transverse, across", the sense being "twisted" or "contrary", the Old Norse is cognate with words from Dutch and Gothic with these meanings.
  6. foil
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    Authorities say two teenagers attempting to carjack a vehicle in Houston were foiled by a stick shift.
    —Seattle Times Dec 2, 2014
    From Old French foler " trample on, ill-treat, get the better of", which itself is from Latin fullo "one who cleans cloth ( by treading on it)."
  7. forestall
    keep from happening or arising; make impossible
    My worry for the economy is what will happen when Band-Aid monetary policy can no longer forestall the hemorrhaging of the US economy.
    —Forbes Sep 28, 2014
    From Old English foresteall "intervention, hindrance", literally " a standing before someone", made up from fore- "before" and steall, "a standing position."
  8. quash
    put down by force or intimidation
    It has quashed most dissent, threatening or arresting critics of the coup.
    —Washington Times Oct 15, 2014
    From Latin quassare "to shatter."
  9. encumber
    hold back, impede, or weigh down
    The girdle was reinvented as a billion-dollar idea: a lighter, less encumbering compression garment.
    —Washington Post July 29, 2014
    From Old French encombrer "to block up, hinder, thwart", from Late Latin incombrare, which consists of in- and combrus "barricade, obstacle."
  10. stymie
    hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    But Judge Norman Krumenacker disagreed, saying that keeping judges on the bench too long can stymie change and inhibit new ideas.
    —Washington Times Nov 5, 2014
    From a golf term, stymie, "condition in which an opponent's ball blocks the hole." This term is possibly from Scottish stymie "person who sees poorly."
  11. curb
    the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess
    The city’s school district had eight different superintendents in the decade to 2005, none of whom managed to curb corruption or control waste.
    —Economist Dec 11, 2014
    From the noun which means "the strap passing under the jaw of a horse used to restrain the animal", from Old French courbe.
  12. quell
    overcome or allay
    Twitter on Wednesday sought to quell criticism that it isn’t improving the design and functionality of its service fast enough.
    —Wall Street Journal Nov 12, 2014
    From Old English cwellan "to kill, murder, execute". More mild modern sense developed by 1300.
  13. constrain
    hold back
    He is concerned that it may be hard to write an algorithmic moral code strong enough to constrain and contain super-smart software.
    —BBC Dec 2, 2014
    From Latin constringere " to bind together, to tie tightly." Constringere is made up of com- "together" and stringere "to draw tight."
  14. stifle
    smother or suppress
    But clamping down on a still-developing business, he said, might "stifle innovation."
    —Chicago Tribune Nov 21, 2014
    From Old French estouffer, which may come from a Germanic source akin to Old High German stopfon "to plug up, stuff."
  15. rein
    keep in check
    China’s growth has slowed as it seeks to rein in excessive lending tied to real estate development.
    —Time Dec 5, 2014
    From the equine-related noun, via Old French rene which itself may be from Vulgar Latin retina " a bond, check."
Created on Thu Dec 11 23:53:00 EST 2014 (updated Mon Dec 15 15:17:14 EST 2014)

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