obey

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman obeir, obeier et al., Old French obeir, from Latin oboedire (also obēdīre (“to listen to, harken, usually in extended sense, obey, be subject to, serve”)), from ob- (“before, near”) + audīre (“to hear”). Compare audient. In Latin, ob + audire would have been expected to become Classical Latin *obūdiō (compare in + claudō becoming inclūdō), but it has been theorized that the usual law court associations of the word for obeying encouraged a false archaism from ū to oe, to oboediō (compare Old Latin oinos → Classical Latin ūnus).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /oʊˈbeɪ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əʊˈbeɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Hyphenation: obey

Verb

obey (third-person singular simple present obeys, present participle obeying, simple past and past participle obeyed)

1. (transitive) To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of.
2. (intransitive) To do as one is told.
3. (obsolete, intransitive) To be obedient, compliant (to a given law, restriction etc.).
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iv:

     They were all taught by Triton, to obay / To the long raynes, at her commaundement [...].

Antonyms

• disobey
• defy
• rebel
• resist
• violate (especially rules)

Related terms

• obedience
• obedient
• obeisance

Translations

to do as ordered by

• Arabic: طَاعَ‎ (ṭāʿa)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 服从 (zh) (fúcóng), 遵守 (zh) (zūnshǒu)

• Czech: poslouchat (cs)
• Dutch: gehoorzamen (nl)
• Esperanto: obei
• Finnish: totella (fi), noudattaa (fi)
• French: obéir (fr)
• Friulian: ubidî
• Georgian: დამორჩილება (damorčileba), გაგონება (gagoneba)
• German: gehorchen (de)
• Greek: υπακούω (el) (ypakoúo)
• Hungarian: engedelmeskedik (hu)
• Irish: géill do
• Italian: obbedire (it), ubbidire (it)
• Japanese: 従う (ja) (shitagau)

• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: audio (la), obaudio, oboedio (la)
• Maori: mau, ū, whakarongo
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: adlyde
• Persian: اطاعت کردن‎ (fa) (etâ'at kardan)
• Polish: przestrzegać (pl)
• Portuguese: obedecer (pt)
• Russian: подчиняться (ru) (podčinjatʹsja)
• Spanish: obedecer (es)
• Swahili: kutii (sw)
• Swedish: lyda (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: підкорятися (pidkoriatysia, pokoriatysia)
• Vietnamese: vâng lời (vi)
• Welsh: ufuddhau (cy)

to do as one is told

• Czech: podřídit se, řídit se (čím)
• Finnish: totella (fi)
• German: befolgen (de)

  Alemannic German: folge

• Hungarian: engedelmeskedik (hu)
• Japanese: 言いなりになる (iinari ni naru)

• Latin: audio (la)
• Maori: ū, whakarongo
• Norwegian: adlyde, være lydhør
• Spanish: obedecer (es)
• Swedish: lyda (sv)

to be obedient, compliant

• Czech: být v souladu
• Latin: audio (la)

• Maori: ū

Further reading

• obey in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• obey in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911