Where does “obsequious” come from?
Obsequious derives from Latin obsequiosus, from Latin obsequium, ultimately from Ancient Greek βέλος meaning a projectile or sharp object.
obsequious (English): Obedient; compliant with someone else's orders or...
Definitions
- Obedient; compliant with someone else's orders or...
Ancestry of “obsequious”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | obsequiosus | obsequious, complaisant, complying |
| 2 | Latin | obsequium | Complaisance, yielding, compliance; deference,... |
| 3 | Latin | obsequor | I accommodate myself to the will of another... |
| 4 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 5 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |