Obscurity

How to spell obscurity

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce obscurity

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does obscurity mean?

1. nounThe state of being unknown, forgotten, or unimportant.
2. nounThe quality of being difficult to understand or perceive clearly.

Obscurity in a sentence

• The author spent decades in obscurity before her novel became a bestseller.

• The obscurity of the contract's wording forced the team to hire a lawyer.

• The once famous brand faded into obscurity after the factory closed.

• Critics complained about the obscurity of the poem's central image.

Where does obscurity come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin obscuritas, meaning 'darkness' or 'dimness', which was built on the adjective obscurus, literally 'covered over' or 'dark'. That adjective seems to combine the prefix ob- (over) with a root linked to 'covering' or 'shadow', so the original picture is of something hidden under a covering of darkness. The sense soon stretched from literal dimness to figurative gloom: a thing too murky to see clearly, and from there a thing too unimportant or unknown to be noticed. English took the word in through Old French obscurite during the 1400s, keeping the Latin spelling close to the surface. The 'sc' cluster and the unstressed '-ity' ending are the spots where writers slip, and recalling the root obscurus, with its plain 'scur', helps anchor that middle.

How the word is built

• obscur- (from Latin obscurus: dark, hidden)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix denoting a state or quality)