Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
EMBARGO
I. noun (plural -goes)
Etymology: Spanish, from embargar to bar, from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, from Latin in- + Vulgar Latin *barra bar
Date: 1593
an order of a government prohibiting the departure of commercial ships from its ports, a legal prohibition on commerce , stoppage , impediment , an order by a common carrier or public regulatory agency prohibiting or restricting freight transportation,
II. transitive verb (-goed; -going)
Date: 1755
to place an embargo on