Etymology

obstacle

ob·sta·cle
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Today it means: Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress, either physically or figuratively Full definition →

Middle English obstacle ← Old French obstacle ← Latin obstāculum
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromobstāculum
  2. Old French · derived fromobstacle
  3. Middle English · inherited fromobstacle
  4. English todayobstacle

From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obstāculum.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.