Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Impede

Impede , transitive verb

[Latin impedire, lit., to entangle the feet; pref. im- in + pes, pedis, foot. See Foot, and compare Impeach.]

To hinder; to stop in progress; to obstruct; as, to impede the advance of troops.
Whatever hinders or impedes The action of the nobler will. — Logfellow