obeisance
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- obeisaunce, obeissance, abaisance (obsolete)
Etymology
[edit]From Middle English obeisaunce (“obedience, obeisance”), from Old French obeïssance, derived from obeïssant (“obedient”), participle of obeïr (“to obey”), from Latin oboedire, obedire; ob- (“to, for”) + audire (“to hear”). Cognate with obedience.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /əˈbiː.səns/
- (UK) IPA(key): /əʊˈbeɪ.səns/, /əˈbeɪ.səns/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /oʊˈbeɪ.səns/, /oʊˈbiː.səns/
- Hyphenation: o‧bei‧sance
- Rhymes: -eɪsəns
Noun
[edit]obeisance (countable and uncountable, plural obeisances)
- Demonstration of an obedient attitude, especially by bowing deeply; a deep bow which demonstrates such an attitude.
- 1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review[1], volume I, number II, New York, N.Y., London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC:
- In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore; / Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
- 1915 April, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], “Alone the Immortals”, in Fifty-one Tales, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, →OCLC:
- But looking upwards in the blaze of the moon I suddenly saw colossi sitting near, and towering up and blotting out the stars and filling the night with blackness; and at those idols’ feet I saw praying and making obeisance kings and the days that are and all times and all cities and all nations and all their gods.
- 1962, J. L. Austin, How To Do Things With Words, OUP paperback edition, page 69:
- The situation in the case of actions which are non-linguistic but similar to performative utterances in that they are the performance of a conventional action (here ritual or ceremonial) is rather like this: suppose I bow deeply before you; it might not be clear whether I am doing obeisance to you or, say, stooping to observe the flora or to ease my indigestion.
- An obedient attitude.
Usage notes
[edit]- Usually in the phrases do obeisance or make obeisance.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]demonstration of an obedient attitude, especially by bowing deeply; a deep bow which demonstrates such an attitude
an obedient attitude
See also
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪsəns
- Rhymes:English/eɪsəns/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations