Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “obligate” come from?

Obligate comes from Latin obligatus, the past participle of obligire, which combined ob- with ligāre, meaning to bind or tie.

obligate (English): To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a...

Definitions

  1. To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a...

Ancestry of “obligate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinobligātus—
2Latinobligō—
3Latinob-towards; against
4Latinobolusobolus
5Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
6Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
7Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
8Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
9Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “obligate”

  • obligately
  • obligator
  • nonobligate
  • obligatee
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →