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obsequious - 4 dictionary results
ob⋅se⋅qui⋅ous
[uh
b-see-kwee-uhs] 
–adjective
| 1. | characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning: an obsequious bow. |
| 2. | servilely compliant or deferential: obsequious servants. |
| 3. | obedient; dutiful. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To obsequious
| ob·se·qui·ous (ŏb-sē'kwē-əs, əb-) adj. Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning. [Middle English, from Latin obsequiōsus, from obsequium, compliance, from obsequī, to comply : ob-, to; see ob- + sequī, to follow; see sekw-1 in Indo-European roots.] ob·se'qui·ous·ly adv., ob·se'qui·ous·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Obsequious
Ob*se"qui*ous\, a. [L. obsequiosus, fr. obsequium compliance, fr. obsequi, fr. obsequi: cf. F. obs['e]quieux, See Obsequent, and cf. Obsequy.]1. Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted. [Obs.] His servants weeping, Obsequious to his orders, bear him hither. --Addison. 2. Servilely or meanly attentive; compliant to excess; cringing; fawning; as, obsequious flatterer, parasite. There lies ever in "obsequious" at the present the sense of an observance which is overdone, of an unmanly readiness to fall in with the will of another. --Trench. 3. [See Obsequy.] Of or pertaining to obsequies; funereal. [R.] "To do obsequious sorrow." --Shak. Syn: Compliant; obedient; servile. See Yielding.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : obsequious
Spanish:
servil, servicial,
German:
unterwürfig,
Japanese:
こびへつらう
obsequious
c.1450, "prompt to serve," from L. obsequiosus "compliant, obedient," from obsequium "compliance, dutiful service," from obsequi "to accommodate oneself to the will of another," from ob "after" + sequi "follow" (see sequel). Pejorative sense of "fawning, sycophantic" had emerged by 1599 (implied in obsequiously).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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