# empecer
## Galician
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese empeecer (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Vulgar Latin *impedīscere, inchoative of Latin impediō, impedīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /empɛˈθeɾ/

### Verb

empecer (first-person singular present empezo, first-person singular preterite empecín, past participle empecido) empecer (first-person singular present empeço, first-person singular preterite empecim or empeci, past participle empecido, reintegrationist norm)
* (now literary) to impede
* (now literary) to harm
** 1486, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros. Escolma de documentos en galego dos séculos XIII ao XVI, Vigo: Galaxia, page 193:Onde for borado non enpeçaIt should not maim [the validity of this documents] wherever it is smudged

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “empecer”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “enpee”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “empecer”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* “empecer”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “empecer”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* “empecer” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “empecer”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese empeecer, from Vulgar Latin *impedīscere, inchoative of Latin impedīre. Compare Galician and Spanish empecer

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈse(ʁ)/ [ẽ.peˈse(h)], (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈse(ʁ)/ [ĩ.peˈse(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈse(ʁ)/ [ẽ.peˈse(h)], (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈse(ʁ)/ [ĩ.peˈse(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈse(ɾ)/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈse(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈse(ʁ)/ [ẽ.peˈse(χ)], (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈse(ʁ)/ [ĩ.peˈse(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈse(ɻ)/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈse(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ẽ.pɨˈseɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ẽ.pɨˈseɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ẽ.pɨˈse.ɾi/

### Verb

empecer (first-person singular present empeço, first-person singular preterite empeci, past participle empecido)
* (transitive) to harm; to prejudice
* (transitive, intransitive) to prevent; to impede

#### Related terms

* empecilho
* impedir

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *impediscere, from Latin impedīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Spain) /empeˈθeɾ/ [ẽm.peˈθeɾ]
* IPA: (Latin America, Philippines) /empeˈseɾ/ [ẽm.peˈseɾ]
* Rhymes: -eɾ
* Syllabification: em‧pe‧cer

### Verb

empecer (third-person only, third-person singular present empece, third-person singular preterite empeció, past participle empecido)
* (obsolete, transitive) to harm, maim
* (transitive, intransitive) to impede, hinder

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.

#### Related terms

* impedir

### Further reading

* “empecer”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10