Etymograph

English

obedient

Obedient comes from Latin oboediēns ‘obeying, obedient’, and goes back to oboediō ‘obey’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoboediō1‘obey’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoboediēns1‘obeying, obedient’present active participle of oboediō
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400obedient1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500obedient1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2002obedient1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English obedient
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, John Michael Doris, Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior: “Damn the obedients and hail the defiants if you…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoboediōWiktionary, English obedient‘obey’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoboediēnsWiktionary, English obedient‘obeying, obedient’present active participle of oboediō
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400obedientWiktionary, English obedient
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500obedientWiktionary, English obedient
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2002obedientWiktionary, English obedient. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, John Michael Doris, Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior: “Damn the obedients and hail the defiants if you…”

Linked words

through Latin oboediō ‘obey’

obey, 2 more

Today it means

adj Willing to comply with the commands, orders, or instructions of those in authority; biddable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “obedient”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin oboediō / obedient

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