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obéir

Etymology and origin of the French word obéir

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1112, Benedeit, Voyage de saint Brendan
Borrowed from
Latin oboedio
Ultimate origin
Latin (audiō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin oboedio
French obéir

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɔ.be.iʁ/[1]

Forms

obéir[1] The Académie spelt it obeïr (1694), obéïr (1718), obéir from 1740.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin oboediō (“to listen to; to obey”), from ob- (“before”) and audiō (“to hear”) (see ouïr), with an obscure diphthong /oe/ where /u/ would be expected.[2][3][4][5][6] Bloch and Wartburg say it was borrowed as a church and legal term.[7] Cognate with Italian ubbidire, Occitan obezir and Catalan obeir.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Benedeit's Voyage de saint Brendan (about 1112) has cumandet eals lui obeir, of submitting to someone's will.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The old transitive use obéir quelqu'un (about 1160) disappeared in the 17th century, leaving only the passive être obéi.[3] Lanfranc (1377) uses it of things that yield to an action, as tissues to a treatment.[2][8] Ronsard (1550) has it for giving way to an impulse, and La Fontaine (1671) of a machine or a horse responding to a command.[2][5]

Senses such as “to agree to” (1310) and “to undertake to” disappeared in the 16th century.[3] The reflexive s'obéir à soi-même “to follow one's own reason” is in Boiste's dictionary (1823).[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1112 – Benedeit's Voyage de saint Brendan.[2]
  • c. 1160 – Transitive obéir quelqu'un.[3]
  • 1270 – The noun obéissance.[7][3]
  • c. 1280 – Désobéir.[7]
  • 1377 – Of things, in Lanfranc.[2]
  • 1550 – “To yield to an impulse”, in Ronsard.[2]
  • 1671 – Of something that responds to control, in La Fontaine.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. Obéir à quelqu'un: to obey: enfant qui obéit à ses parents, se faire obéir, to make oneself obeyed.[10][11]
  2. Obéir à quelque chose: to comply with, follow: obéir à un ordre, obéir aux lois.[10][1]
  3. To yield to (an impulse, a feeling): obéir à ses instincts.[5][10]
  4. Of a thing, to be subject to (a force or law); of a machine or animal, to respond: le cheval obéit à l'éperon.[5][8]

Word family

  • obéissance
  • obéissant
  • désobéir

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 276b
  7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Obéir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ob%C3%A9ir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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