Obey

How to spell obey

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce obey

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does obey mean?

1. verbTo do what one is told to do, or to comply with a rule, order, or instruction.

Obey in a sentence

• Every driver must obey the posted speed limit.

• Soldiers are trained to obey orders without delay.

Where does obey come from?

Language of origin: French

The word obey traces back to the Latin verb oboedire, which meant 'to give ear to' or 'to listen towards', built from ob 'towards' and audire 'to hear'. The underlying idea is wonderfully concrete: to obey someone was originally to lend them your ear and act on what you heard. The Latin form passed into Old French as obeir, and English borrowed it during the 1200s, in the era when French was the language of court and command. Over time the literal sense of listening faded into the modern sense of doing what one is told or following a rule. The same audire root survives in everyday relatives such as 'audience', 'audible', and 'audio', a useful reminder that obeying began as an act of hearing.

How the word is built

• ob- (towards)
• -ey (from Latin audire: to hear, listen)