From French 'embarquer' (to board a boat) — every great journey began by boarding a ship, now any major undertaking.
To board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle for a journey; to begin a new undertaking or venture.
From French 'embarquer' or Spanish 'embarcar' (to put on board a ship), from 'en-' (in, on) + 'barque' / 'barca' (a small ship, a bark), from Late Latin 'barca' (boat), probably borrowed from Egyptian or a pre-Roman Mediterranean language — possibly Coptic 'bari' (small boat) or related to Greek 'baris' (an Egyptian flat-bottomed boat). The word preserves the memory of an era when all significant journeys began at a harbor, and 'getting on the boat' was synonymous with starting any major enterprise. The figurative extension to 'embark on a project' appeared by the 17th century. The opposite, 'disembark,' arrived slightly later. The root word 'bark/barque' survives
The word 'embargo' is a close relative of 'embark' — from Spanish 'embargar' (to bar, to restrain, to impede), literally to put a bar into. Both words share the 'em- + bar-' structure, but while 'embark' means to get on the boat and go, 'embargo' means the boat is not allowed to go. They are etymological opposites disguised as near-twins.