What does "impedimenta" mean?

Equipment intended for an activity that serves as more of a hindrance than a help, especially military baggage.

How do you pronounce "impedimenta"?

Pronounced //ɪmˌpɛdɪˈmɛntə//.

Common synonyms include: accouterments, apparatus, appliance, appliances, appointments, appurtenances.

//ɪmˌpɛdɪˈmɛntə// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
Equipment intended for an activity that serves as more of a hindrance than a help, especially military baggage.
"On the plains they will have horses dragging travoises, dogs with travoises, women and children loaded with impedimenta."
2
the baggage and equipment carried by an army wordnet
3
plural of impedimentum form-of, plural
4
any structure that makes progress difficult wordnet

"On the plains they will have horses dragging travoises, dogs with travoises, women and children loaded with impedimenta."

Learned borrowing from Latin impedimenta, circa 1600. Compare impediment.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.