Etymologically
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observer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 09:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɔp.sɛʁ.ve/[1]

Forms

observer[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin observō (“to watch, pay attention to; to respect, comply with”), from ob- and servō (“to keep, preserve, watch over”) (see conserver).[2][3][4][5][6] In Church Latin “observare” was used especially of keeping religious duties.[4]

Compare Italian osservare and Spanish observar.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Léger (late 10th century) has Lei consentit et observat, of keeping the Christian law.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Old French used the verb only in this moral sense, “to comply with what a law prescribes”.[3] The other senses developed in the 16th and 17th centuries: to make something one's rule (Montaigne, 1580), to watch closely (Hulsius, 1607), to observe scientifically (Furetière, 1690), to watch an enemy (1681) and to notice (Amyot, 1559); faire observer qqch. à qqn “to point something out to someone” is in Fénelon (1687).[2][3]

Observer les distances was a military phrase (1868) that came to mean “to keep one's distance”.[3] The learned derivatives observation (about 1200), observateur (1491) and observatoire (1667) followed.[4]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – To keep (the law), Vie de saint Léger.[2]
  • c. 1200 – The noun observation.[4]
  • 1559 – To notice, Amyot.[2]
  • 1580 – To make (something) one's rule, Montaigne.[2]
  • 1607 – To watch attentively, Hulsius.[2]
  • 1667 – Observatoire.[4]
  • 1690 – To observe scientifically, Furetière.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To observe, watch, examine: observer les étoiles, observer qqn à la dérobée.[8][1]
  2. To notice, note, faire observer qqch. à qqn, to point something out.[1][2]
  3. To keep, comply with: observer une règle, observer une minute de silence.[8][1]
  4. S'observer: to watch oneself; to watch each other.[2]

Word family

  • observable
  • observatoire
  • inobservation
  • observation
  • observateur
  • observance
  • conserver
  • Latin observō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 283b
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert