obeisance

C2+ Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /oʊˈbeɪsəns/ UK /əʊˈbeɪsəns/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a gesture or attitude of deferential respect; homage

The courtiers made obeisance as the queen entered.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a gesture or attitude of... homage deference reverence bow curtsy respect submission

Opposites

defiance disrespect insolence

Word family

Derived forms obeisant

Related forms obey obedience

Etymology

From Old French obeissance ('obedience, homage'), from obeissant, present participle of obeir ('to obey'), from Latin oboedire ('to obey').

obeissance Old French oboedire Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment

# obeisance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** oʊˈbeɪsəns
**IPA (UK):** əʊˈbeɪsəns

## Meanings
1. a gesture or attitude of deferential respect; homage

## Examples
- The courtiers made obeisance as the queen entered.

## Synonyms
- homage
- deference
- reverence
- bow
- curtsy
- respect
- submission

## Antonyms
- defiance
- disrespect
- insolence

## Derived Forms
- obeisant

## Related Forms
- obey
- obedience

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: obeissance
- Root: oboedire

## Etymology
From Old French obeissance ('obedience, homage'), from obeissant, present participle of obeir ('to obey'), from Latin oboedire ('to obey').

## AI Etymology
Obeisance comes from Old French obeissance ('obedience, homage'), from obeissant, present participle of obeir ('to obey'), from Latin oboedire ('to obey'). The etymological trail includes Old French obeissance and Latin oboedire. As a noun, obeisance means a gesture or attitude of deferential respect; homage. The same family is visible in derived forms such as obeisant and related forms such as obey and obedience.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment

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obeisance

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