oblige
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See also: obligé
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English obligen, from Old French obligier, obliger, from Latin obligō, obligāre, from ob- ligō. Doublet of obligate, taken straight from Latin.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]oblige (third-person singular simple present obliges, present participle obliging, simple past and past participle obliged)
- (transitive) To constrain someone by force or by social, moral or legal means.
- I am obliged to report to the police station every week.
- 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
- Tho' he was some time awake before me, yet did he not offer to disturb a repose he had given me so much occasion for; but on my first stirring, which was not till past ten o'clock, I was oblig'd to endure one more trial of his manhood.
- (transitive, intransitive) To do (someone) a service or favour (hence, originally, creating an obligation).
- He obliged me by not parking his car in the drive.
- The singer obliged with another song.
- 1719, John Harris, Astronomical dialogues between a gentleman and a lady, page 151:
- In the mean time I have another trouble to give you, if you will oblige me in it; and that is to get me a sight of the famous Orrery, which I have heard you and others so often speak of; and which I think was made by Mr. Rowley, the famous Mathematical Instrument-Maker.
- (intransitive) To be indebted to someone.
- I am obliged to you for your recent help.
Usage notes
[edit]Aside from in American English and Scottish, "obliged" had largely replaced "obligate" by the 20th century, the latter being more common in the 17th through 19th centuries.[1][2]
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to constrain someone by force or by social, moral or legal means
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to do someone a service or favour (hence, originally, creating an obligation)
|
to be indebted to someone
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References
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]French
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]oblige
- inflection of obliger:
Romanian
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]oblige
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
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- Rhymes:English/aɪdʒ
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