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Origin and history of obey

obey(v.)

c. 1300, obeien, "carry out the commands of (someone); submit to (a command, rule, etc.); be ruled by," from Old French obeir "obey, be obedient, do one's duty" (12c.), from Latin obedire, oboedire "obey, be subject, serve; pay attention to, give ear," literally "listen to," from ob "to" (see ob-) + audire "listen, hear" (from PIE root *au- "to perceive"). Same sense development is in hiersumnian, the Old English word for the same thing. Related: Obeyed; obeying.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to obey

disobedience(n.)

"neglect or refusal to obey," c. 1400, from Old French desobedience, from Vulgar Latin *disobedientia (replacing Latin inobedientia) from Latin dis- (see dis-) + oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun from oboedientem (nominative oboediens), present participle of oboedire "to obey" (see obey). The English word replaced earlier desobeissance in this sense, and inobedience (c. 1200).

disobedient(adj.)

"neglecting or refusing to obey, refractory, not submitting to the rules or regulations prescribed by authority," early 15c., dysobedyent, from Old French desobedient, from Vulgar Latin *disobedientem (replacing Latin inobedientem) from Latin dis- (see dis-) + oboedientem (nominative oboediens), present participle of oboedire "to obey" (see obey). Related: Disobediently. Earlier in the same sense was disobeissant (late 14c.), from Old French desobeissant, and inobedient (early 14c.).

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Trends of obey

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

disobey
late 14c., disobeien, "neglect or refuse to obey," from Old French desobeir (13c.) "disobey; refuse service or homage," from Vulgar Latin *disoboedire, reformed with dis- (see dis-) from Late Latin inobedire, a back-formation from inobediens "not obeying," from Latin in- "not" +
obedience
c. 1200, "the practice or virtue of submission to a higher power or authority;" late 14c., "dutiful compliance with a command or law," from Old French obedience "obedience, submission" (12c.), from Latin oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun from oboedientem (nominative oboedien
obeisance
late 14c., obeisaunce, "act or fact of obeying, submissiveness, quality of being compliant or dutiful; respectful submission, homage," from Old French obeissance "obedience, service, feudal duty" (13c.), from obeissant, present participle of obeir "to obey," from Latin oboedire "
transparent
"show light through," from Latin trans "across, beyond; through" (see trans-) + parere "come in sight, appear; submit, obey...
recusant
"obstinate in refusal," 1610s, from Latin recusantem (nominative recusans) "refusing to obey," present participle of recusare...
appear
apparere "to appear, come in sight, make an appearance," from ad "to" (see ad-) + parere "to come forth, be visible; submit, obey...
follow
especially as a disciple), move in the same direction as; follow after, pursue, move behind in the same direction," also "obey...Sense of "accept as leader or guide, obey or be subservient to" was in late Old English....
mind
"that which feels, wills, and thinks; the intellect," late 12c., mynd, from Old English gemynd "memory, remembrance; state of being remembered; thought, purpose; conscious mind, intellect, intention," Proto-Germanic *ga-mundiz (source also of Gothic muns "thought," munan "to thin
listen
Old English hlysnan (Northumbrian lysna) "to listen, hear; attend to, obey" (transitive), from Proto-Germanic *hlusinon (source also of Dutch luisteren, Old High German hlosen "to listen," German lauschen "to listen"), from PIE root *kleu- "to hear." This root is the source also
tinsel
mid-15c., "a kind of cloth made with interwoven gold or silver thread," from Anglo-French tencele, Old French estencele, estincelle "spark, spangle" (see stencil (n.)). "In 14-15th c. Fr., the s of es- had long been mute" [OED]. Meaning "very thin sheets or strips of shiny metal"

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Dictionary entries near obey
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