Etymologically
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obscure

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əbˈskjʊɹ/, /əbˈskjɝ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French obscur (“dark, dim, not clear”) (also oscur) and directly Latin obscūrus (“covered over, dark”),[2][3][4] from ob (“over”) and a form -scūrus, covered,[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, conceal”).[3][5] It is related to sky.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dark, dim, and figuratively gloomy: about 1400 in the OED and Etymonline, probably before 1400 in Barnhart.[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

The Latin word brought many senses, dim, hidden, hard to understand, humble, all of which influenced the English word.[7] Not readily understood is from the early 15th century,[3][4] and hidden or remote, of a place, from 1484.[6] Of persons, not famous or noted, it is from the 1540s,[3] and indistinct in outline from the 1590s.[3][6] The verb, to cover or cloud over, is from the early 15th century, and to conceal or disguise from the 1520s.[3] Obscurity is from about 1477, obscurant from 1799 and obscurantism from 1834.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – dark, dim.[6][3]
  • early 15th century – hard to understand; to obscure (verb).[3]
  • 1484 – hidden, remote.[6]
  • 1540s – unknown to fame.[3]
  • 1590s – indistinct.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Not known to many people; not famous or important.
  2. Hard to understand; not clear.
  3. Not clearly seen, heard or felt; indistinct.
  4. Hidden or remote.

Verb

  1. To keep from being seen or understood; to conceal.
  2. To make dark or dim.

Word family

  • obscurely
  • obscureness
  • obscuration
  • subobscure
  • unobscure
  • clare-obscure
  • obscurity
  • obscurant
  • obscurantism
  • sky

Usage notes

In Scots, obscure meant secret or concealed.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)