Observer

How to spell observer

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce observer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does observer mean?

1. nounA person who watches, notices, or monitors something, often without taking part.

Observer in a sentence

• A neutral observer was sent to monitor the election.

• As a casual observer of the meeting, she took no part in the vote.

Where does observer come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word reaches English from the Latin verb observare, which meant 'to watch over', 'to attend to', or 'to keep an eye on'. That verb was built from the prefix ob-, carrying the sense of 'toward' or 'over', joined to servare, meaning 'to watch, keep, or guard', the same root that gives us 'conserve', 'preserve', and 'reserve'. The verb 'observe' passed into English through Old French observer in the late 1300s, originally meaning to comply with a rule or custom as much as to watch something. The agent noun 'observer', meaning one who watches or notices, was formed shortly afterward by adding the familiar English -er ending. Because the word stacks serv plus -er, writers sometimes hesitate over the vowels, but remembering the buried verb 'serve' inside it keeps the spelling steady.

How the word is built

• ob- (toward, over)
• serv (from servare: to watch, keep, guard)
• -er (agent suffix: one who does)