Obeys

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To follow orders or comply with commands given by an authority or rule; to act according to a law, instruction, or guideline; to submit oneself to the direction or control of another
2. To carry out directions or adhere to regulations imposed by someone in charge; to conform one’s behavior to rules or instructions set by an external power; to yield to the will or commands of another person or system
3. To respond affirmatively to commands or rules from an authority; to act in accordance with prescribed demands or expectations; to defer to the authority or instructions of a superior or governing principle

Etymology: This is the third-person singular present of "obey", so the history belongs to the verb itself. The verb came into Middle English from Anglo-Norman and Old French "obeir", which was based on Latin "oboedire", meaning to listen to, harken to, or be subject to. Its root is "ob-", meaning "before" or "near", joined to "audire", "to hear". To obey, then, was originally to hear someone attentively and respond to what they said. The most surprising detail is the vowel. Following the normal rules of Latin sound change, "ob" plus "audire" should have produced "obudire", but the form "oboedire" appeared instead. Linguist L.R. Palmer suggested that the legal sense of hearing and judgement in courts encouraged speakers to adopt a deliberately archaic spelling with "oe" in place of "ū", a pattern similar to the older Latin "oinos" becoming "ūnus".

Synonyms: complies, follows, adheres, observes, conforms

Antonyms: disobeys, defies, rebels, ignores, resists