Pitfall Definition – What it is, Meaning and Concept

The Greek word skópelos passed into Latin as scopŭlus, which in turn arrived in Italian as scoglio. That is the closest etymological antecedent of stumbling block, a term that in our tongue is often used to refer to a hindrance or a inconvenient.

Some examples

Let’s look at the term in three different sentences: “The lack of infrastructure it is a great obstacle for the progress of the people “, “This young man had to overcome several obstacles to graduate, so I think he deserves recognition”, “The team from the capital found no obstacles in their march to a new title”.

In the first case, we can say that the term is used as a synonym for obstacleas it is a problem that prevents progress or growth. More specifically, the geographical area in question cannot evolve due to lack of resources. The second sentence tells us about a person who has had to face different challenges to complete his studies.

Once again the concept of stumbling block refers to different difficulties or complications, problems that do not allow normal development. Finally we have an example in which the protagonists do not run into any obstacle along the way, so that their progress towards their objectives is free of obstacles.

Suppose a man must arrive at nine in the morning to your workplace. When you try to start your car to go to the office, can’t get it started. Faced with this problem, he goes to the train station to travel by this means of transport: however, he discovers that, by an accident, the service is not working. Finally he gets on a colectivo (bus) and ends up arriving at work around noon. As you can see, this subject came across different pitfalls that prevented him from fulfilling his obligation to enter his job at the stipulated time.

A rock

It is called a stumbling block, on the other hand, a boulder that protrudes from Water, posing a danger to navigation. It may be a reef or a small-sized islet, with which it is uninhabitable.

It is common for pitfalls to appear in fjords, especially in the area of ​​its mouth. That is why they are frequent in countries like Norway and Finland. Another name given to the reef, for example in the northern European seas, is sker, an Old Norse term that has derived from skerry, skerrie, skær, skär, skjær, skjer, Schäre and kari, in different languages ​​of Europe.

In certain areas near the marine margins where there are fjords, the filled gutters traced by the ice they are so many and they extend in so many directions that you can see hundreds of reefs, of various sizes, although all represent a danger for boaters. Small islets should not be underestimated, as they are sometimes more dangerous precisely because they are not easily seen.

Related concepts

Going back to the concept of islet, is defined as a small island where there are usually no inhabitants, precisely because of the lack of space. Its name originated in French, and can be understood as “little island.” It is worth mentioning that although they are not inhabited by human beings, each islet is owned by a State. In the case of the stumbling block, it is said to be a islet rocky.

The fjordsOn the other hand, they are relatively narrow coastal maritime inlets that form when glaciers flood a partially carved or excavated valley. When water is frozen it generates a submerged valley whose bottom cannot be seen from the surface. For a stumbling block to arise, a union must occur between several transversal valleys.