Etymologically
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obvious

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈɒb.vi.əs/, US /ˈɑːb.vi.əs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin obvius (“that is in the way; presenting itself readily, open, exposed; commonplace”),[2][3] from obviam (“in the way, towards”),[2][3] from ob “in front of, against” and viam, the accusative of via (“way”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *wegh- (“to go, move, transport in a vehicle”),[2][4] with the suffix -ous.[3][5] It is related to obviate, via and way.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Frequently met with, commonly found”, a sense now obsolete: 1583 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged,[7] 1586 in Barnhart and the OED,[3][8] the 1580s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

“Standing in the way, placed in front of” is from 1603,[8] and “exposed or open to” from 1601, both obsolete.[8] The modern meaning, “plain to see, perfectly evident”, is first recorded in 1635,[3][8] the 1630s in Etymonline.[2] The obvious, obvious things, is from 1903.[8]

Timeline

  • 1583 – frequently met with.[7]
  • 1603 – standing in the way.[8]
  • 1635 – plain, evident.[3][8]
  • 1903 – the obvious.[8]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Easily seen or understood; quite apparent.
  2. Lacking subtlety; easily seen through: an obvious ploy.
  3. (archaic) Standing in the way or in front.

Word family

  • obviously
  • obviousness
  • nonobvious
  • overobvious
  • unobvious
  • obviate
  • via
  • way
  • convey

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press