It's Merriam Webster's Word of the Day for September 1st.

Today's word is Embargo, spelled E-M-B-A-R-G-O. Embargo is a noun.

It refers to a government order that limits trade in some way.

In broader usage, Embargo can function as a synonym of the word prohibition.

Here's the word used in a sentence from the Bucks Free Press of Buckinghamshire, England.

Since its review Embargo lifted on July 18th, Barbie has received a largely positive critical response

with the independent describing it as a near miraculous achievement

and the times dubbing it a gorgeous and fascinating mishmash.

English speakers got the word Embargo, the concept as well, from the Spanish in the early 17th century.

The word first referred specifically to a government order prohibiting commercial ships

from entering or leaving that country's ports.

The Spanish word comes from Embargar, meaning to bar.

By the middle of the 17th century, Embargo was being used more broadly

to refer to any government order that limits trade in some way.

Today, the word is applied more broadly still to refer to various prohibitions.

Publishers, for example, often place an Embargo on a book

to prevent stores from selling it before its official release date.

And in Jane Austen's novel Persuasion, and Elliott says,

I lay no Embargo on anybody's words.

We feel the same.

With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.

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