oblige

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See also: obligé

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English obligen, from Old French obligier, obliger, from Latin obligō, obligāre, from ob- + ligō. Doublet of obligate, taken straight from Latin.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /əˈblaɪd͡ʒ/
    • Rhymes: -aɪdʒ
    • Audio (UK):(file)
  • (obsolete) IPA(key): /əˈbliːd͡ʒ/, /ɒˈbliːd͡ʒ/

Verb

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oblige (third-person singular simple present obliges, present participle obliging, simple past and past participle obliged)

  1. (transitive) To constrain someone by force or by social, moral or legal means.
    I am obliged to report to the police station every week.
    • 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: [] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] [], →OCLC:
      Tho' he was some time awake before me, yet did he not offer to disturb a repose he had given me so much occasion for; but on my first stirring, which was not till past ten o'clock, I was oblig'd to endure one more trial of his manhood.
  2. (transitive, intransitive) To do (someone) a service or favour (hence, originally, creating an obligation).
    He obliged me by not parking his car in the drive.
    The singer obliged with another song.
    • 1719, John Harris, Astronomical dialogues between a gentleman and a lady, page 151:
      In the mean time I have another trouble to give you, if you will oblige me in it; and that is to get me a sight of the famous Orrery, which I have heard you and others so often speak of; and which I think was made by Mr. Rowley, the famous Mathematical Instrument-Maker.
  3. (intransitive) To be indebted to someone.
    I am obliged to you for your recent help.

Usage notes

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Aside from in American English and Scottish, "obliged" had largely replaced "obligate" by the 20th century, the latter being more common in the 17th through 19th centuries.[1][2]

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1996)
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, p. 675

Anagrams

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French

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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oblige

  1. inflection of obliger:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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oblige

  1. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of obliga