An official order that stops trade, ships, or communication with a particular country or group. It is usually used as a political or economic pressure tool.
From Spanish 'embargo' meaning 'seizure, arrest,' from 'embargar' (to impede, arrest), from Vulgar Latin *'imbarricare' (to block), related to 'barra' (bar). It originally referred to stopping ships from leaving port.
An embargo is like putting a giant bar across a country’s doorway so goods can’t come in or out. The word remembers its nautical past: it began as literally holding ships in harbor. Modern embargoes are invisible walls, but the old image of blocking movement is still locked inside the term.
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