OBAMBULATE

Obambulatet (ob-am'bü-lat), v.i. [L. obambulo-prefix ob, and ambulo, to walk.] To walk about. Cockeram. Obambulationt (ob-am'bu-la"shon), n. A walking about.

Impute all these obambulations and nightwalks to the quick and fiery atoms, which did abound in our Don. Gayton. Oban (o'ban), n. The principal gold coin of Japan, worth about £4, 28. Ob-and-solt (ob'and-sol), n. An abbreviation for Objection and Solution frequently found in the margins of old books of controversial divinity. Burton. Ob-and-soler,+ Ob-and-sollert (ob'andsol-ér), n. [See above.] A scholastic disputant; a religious controversialist; a polemic.

To pass for deep and learned scholars,
Although but paltry ob-and-solers,

As if th unseasonable fools

Had been a coursing in the schools. Hudibras. Obarne, † Obarnit (o-bär'ne), n. An ancient beverage, a kind of mead.

Chimney sweepers To their tobacco and strong waters hum Meath and obarni. B. Jonson. Obbligato (ob'li-gä-to), n. An instrumental part or accompaniment of such importance that it cannot be dispensed with. Obclavate (ob-kla'vat), a. [Prefix ob, and clavate.] In bot. inversely clavate. Obcompressed (ob-kom-prest'), a. [Prefix ob, and compressed.] In bot. compressed so that the two sutures of a fruit are brought into contact; flattened, back and front. Obconic, Obconical (ob-kon'ik, ob-kon'ikal), a. [Prefix ob, and conic.] In bot. conical, but having the apex downward.

Obcordate (ob-kor'dat), a. [Prefix ob, and cordate.] In bot. shaped like a heart, with the apex downward; as, an obcordate petal, legume, or leaf.

Obdormition (ob-dor-mi'- Obcordate Leaf. shon), n. [L. obdormio, to

sleep-ob, and dormio, to sleep.] Sleep; sound sleep. A peaceable obdormition in thy bed of ease and honour.' Bp. Hall. [Rare.]

Obduce (ob-dus), v.t. [L. obduco-ob, and duco, to lead.] To draw over, as a covering. 'A cortex that is obduced over the cutis.' Sir M. Hale. [Rare.]

Obduct + (ob-dukt'), v. t. [L. obduco. See OBDUCE.] To draw over; to cover; to obduce. Sir T. Browne.

Obduction (ob-duk'shon), n. [L. obductio. See OBDUCE.] The act of drawing over, as a covering. Cockeram.

Obduracy (ob'dū-ra-si), n. [See OBDURATE.] The state or quality of being obdurate; especially, the state of being hardened against moral influences; invincible hardness of heart; obstinacy in wickedness. Shak.

South.

God may by almighty grace hinder the absolute completion of sin in final obduracy. Obdurate (ob'du-rāt, formerly ob-dü'rāt), a. [L. obduratus, from obduro, to harden-ob, intensive, and duro, to harden, from durus, hard.] 1. Hardened in heart, especially against moral influences; persisting obstinately in sin or impenitence.

But to convince the proud what signs avail,

Or wonders move the obdurate to relent? Milton.

2. Hard-hearted; stubborn; unyielding; inflexible; inexorable.

Ah, countrymen! if when you make your prayers,
God should be so obdurate as yourselves,
How would it fare with your departing souls?
Shak.

3. Harsh; rugged; rough. [Rare.]
They joined the most obdurate consonants without
one intervening vowel.
Swift.

SYN. Hardened, unbending, inflexible, unyielding, stubborn, obstinate, impenitent, callous, unfeeling, insensible, unsusceptible. Obduratet (ob'dü-rat), v.t. To harden; to make obdurate. 'Obdurated to the height of boldness.' Dr. H. More. Obdurately (ob'dü-rat-li), adv. In an obdurate manner; stubbornly; inflexibly; with obstinate impenitence. Obdurateness (ob'dü-rat-nes), n. Obduracy; stubbornness; inflexible persistence in sin. 'Obdurateness of men's hearts.' Hammond. Obduration † (ob-du-rā'shon), n. Obduracy. Hooker. Obduret (ob-dur), v. i. To become hard. 'Senseless of good, as stones they soon obdure.' Heywood.

Obduret (ob-dür'), v.t. [L. obduro. See OBDURATE.] To make obdurate; to harden.

286

Obduret (ob-dür'), a. Obdurate; hard.
If the general's heart be so obdure
To an old begging soldier.
Webster.
Obduredness, † Obdureness + (ob-dūrd'nes,
ob-dür'nes), n. Obduracy. [Rare.]
Even the best of us lies open to a certain dead-
ness and obduredness of heart.
Bp. Hall.
Obeah (o-be'a), n.

A species of magical art or witchcraft practised among the African negroes. The practiser is called an obeahman or obeah-woman. Written also Obi.

Obediblet (ō-be'di-bl), a. Obedient; submis-
sive; compliant. 'Obedible submission.' Bp.
Hall.
Obedience (ō-be'di-ens), n. [Fr. obedience,

from L. obedientia, obedience. See OBEY.] 1. The act or habit of obeying; compliance with a command, prohibition, or known law and rule prescribed; submission to authority; as, obedience to a person or to a law or command; to reduce a person to obedience. 'Reclaimed to your obedience fifty fortresses.' Shak. To give obedience where 'tis truly owed.' Shak.-2. Words or action expressive of respect or reverence; dutifulness. 'To speak my thanks and my obedience.' Shak. If I affect it (the crown) more

Than as your honour and as your renown,
Let me no more from this obedience rise
Which my most inward true and duteous spirit
Teacheth, this prostrate and exterior bending.
Shak.

3. In eccles. hist. (a) a party of adherents; as, the Avignon obedience; the obedience of Gregory XIII., &c. (b) A written precept or other formal instrument by which a superior in a religious order communicates to one of his subjects any special precept or instruction.-Passive obedience, unqualified obedience or submission to authority, whether the commands be reasonable or unreasonable, lawful or unlawful. Passive obedience and non-resistance to the powers that be have sometimes been taught as a political doctrine.

Obedienciaryt (ō-be-di-en'shi-ar-i), n. One who obeys. Obedienciaries to their church.' Foxe.

Obedient (ō-be'di-ent), a. [L. obediens, ppr. of obedio, to obey. See OBEY.] Submissive to authority, constraint, or control; yielding compliance; dutiful; willing to obey. 'Obedient to government and peaceable one towards another.' Tillotson.

The chief his orders gives; the obedient band, With due observance, wait the chief's command. Pope. SYN. Dutiful, compliant, observant, regardful, subservient, submissive, obsequious. Obediential (ō-be'di-en"shal), a. According to the rule of obedience; in compliance with commands.

Faith is such as God will accept of, when it affords

fiducial reliance on the promises, and obediential submission to the command. Hammond,

-Obediential obligations, in Scots law, as opposed to conventional obligations, are such as are incumbent on parties in consequence of the situation or relationship in which they are placed, as the obligation upon parents to maintain their children. Obediently (ō-be'di-ent-li), adv. In an obedient manner; with obedience; with due submission to commands; dutifully; submissively.

Obeisance (ō-ba'sans), n. [Fr. obéissance, from obéir, to obey, L. obedio.] 1.† Obedience. Chaucer.-2. A bow or courtesy; an act of reverence, deference, or respect. "Then call him, madam, do him all obeisance.' Shak. Curtseying her obeisance.' Tennyson.

They bowed and made obeisance as she passed.

OBEY

and many have been removed thence to Rome and other places. They seem to have been erected to record the honours or triumphs

as

to

of the monarchs. The two largest obelisks were erected by Sesostris in Heliopolis; the height of these was 180 feet. They were removed Rome by Augustus. Two obelisks in Alexandria, known Cleopatra's Needles, were offered by Mehemet Ali in 1820 to England and France. The French chose instead the Luxor obelisk, which was erected in Paris in 1833. The English one lay prostrate in the sand until it was removed and erected in London, in 1878, by private enterprise. Its height is 68 feet

5 inches, and its breadth at the base 7 feet 10 inches by 7 feet 5 inches.-2. In writing or printing, a reference or mark (thus †) referring the reader to a note in the margin or at the foot of a page. It is also used for designating obsolete words, as a mark of censure, and for other purposes, varying with the pleasure of the writer.

The Lord Keeper... was scratched with their obelisk, that he favoured the Puritans. Bp. Hacket. Obelisk (ob'e-lisk), v.t. To mark with an obelisk, as in writing or printing. Obelize (ob'e-liz), v.t. To mark with an obelus; to mark as spurious or as suspicious. Obelus (ob'e-lus), n. [See OBELISK.] A mark so called from its resemblance to a needle, usually marked thus -, or thus, in ancient MSS. or old editions of the classics, and indicating a suspected passage or reading. The common use of the line, in modern writing, is to mark the place of a break in the sense, where it is suspended, or where there is some awkward grammatical transition. It is also often used instead of a colon (:) or semicolon (;). Obequitatet (ob-ek'wi-tāt), v.i. [L. obequito -ob, and equito, to ride, from equus, a horse.] To ride about. Cockeram. Obequitationt (ob-ek'wi-tä"shon), n. The act of riding about. Cockeram. Oberon (ob'er-on), n. 1. In medieval myth. the king of the fairies. Shak. The name is identical with Auberon or Alberon, the first syllable of which is the old German word alb, Icel. álfr, elf or fairy. His consort's name was Titania or Mab.-2. A satellite of Uranus. Oberration (ob-er-ra'shon), n. [L. oberroprefix ob, and erro, to wander.] The act of wandering about. Bailey. [Rare.] Obese (ō'bes), a. [L. obesus, fat-ob, intens., and edo, esum, to eat.] Excessively corpulent; fat; fleshy. Gayton.

An obese person, with his waistcoat in closer connection with his legs than is quite reconcilable with the established ideas of grace. Dickens.

Obeisant (ō-ba'sant), a. [Fr. obéissant, ppr. of obéir, to obey.] Obedient. Chaucer. Obeliscal (ob-e-lis'kal), a. In the form of an obelisk.

In the open temples of the Druids, they had an obeliscal stone set upright. Stukeley.

Obelisk (ob'e-lisk), n. [L. obeliscus; Gr. obeliskos, dim. of obelos, a spit, and that from belos, a dart, from root bel, bal, seen in ballo, to throw.] 1. A column of a rectangular form, diminishing towards the top, generally finishing with a low pyramid. The proportion of the thickness to the height is nearly the same in all obelisks, that is, between one-ninth and one-tenth; and the thickness at the top is never less than half, nor greater than three-fourths of the thickness at the bottom. Egypt abounded with obelisks, which were always of a single block of stone;

Obey (ō-ba'), v.t. [Fr. obéir, from L. obedio, obedire, to obey, O.L. obodire-prefix ob, and audio, to hear. See AUDIBLE.] 1. To give ear to; to comply with the commands of; to pay submission to.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Eph. vi. 1. 2. To be under the government of; to be ruled by.

Afric and India shall his power obey.

Dryden.

3. To submit to the direction or control of; to yield to the impulse, power, influence, or operation of; as, the ship obeys the helm. Obey (ō-ba), v.i. To submit to commands or authority; to do as one is bid; to yield compliance. 'A courage to endure and to

Obeysing,t n. Obedience. Chaucer. Obfirmatet (ob-fèr'māt), v.t. [L. obfirmo, obfirmatum-prefix ob, and firmus, strong.] To make firm; to harden in resolution. Sheldon.

Obfirmation (ob-fér-ma'shon), n. Hardened resolution; obstinacy.

All the obfirmation and obstinacy of mind, by which they had shut their eyes against that light, was to be rescinded by repentance. Fer. Taylor. Obfirmed + (ob-férmd'), p. and a. Obdurate; hardened; confirmed. Bp. Hall. Obfuscate (ob-fus'kāt), v.t. [L. obfusco, obfuscatum, for offusco-prefix ob, and fusco, to obscure, from fuscus, dark.] 1. To darken; to obscure.

His head, like a smoke-jack, the funnel unswept, and the ideas whirling round and round about in it, all obfuscated and darkened over with fuliginous

matter.

Sterne.

2. Fig. to bewilder; to confuse; to muddle; as, to be obfuscated with drink.

As for Uncle Pullet, he could hardly have been more cofuscated if Mr. Tulliver had said that he was going to send Tom to the Lord Chancellor.

George Eliot. Obfuscatet (ob-fus'kāt), a. Darkened; obscured; clouded. "A very obfuscate and obscure sight.' Burton.

Obfuscation (ob-fus-kä'shon), n. The act of obfuscating or rendering obscure; a clouding. Burton.

Obfusquet (ob-fusk'), v.t. To obfuscate; to darken.

Obi (ō'bi), n. Same as Obeah.

Obimbricate (ob-im'bri-kāt), a. [Prefix ob, reversed, and imbricate.] In bot. a term applied to an involucre the exterior scales of which are progressively longer than the interior ones.

Obit (ob'it), n. [L. obitus, death, from obeo, obitum, to die-ob, against, and eo, to go.] 1. Death; decease.-2. Funeral solemnities. 3. The anniversary of a person's death, or a service or observance held on the anniversary of his death.

In many of our colleges the obit, or anniversary of the death of the founder, is piously observed. Hook. 4. A particular length of slate. Simmonds. Obiter (ob'it-ér), adv. [L., from ob, along, and iter, a way.] In going along; by the by; by chance; incidentally; as, this legal opinion was given obiter.-Obiter dictum,

287

2. Anything visible and tangible; a concrete reality; a material, or material product. Machinery, firearms, steam-coal, and similar objects." A. Mongredien.

Think on thy Proteus when thou haply seest
Some rare, noteworthy object in thy travels. Shak.
3. The aspect in which a thing is presented
to notice; sight; appearance. [Rare.]
The object of our misery is as an inventory to par-
ticularize their abundance.
Shak.

He, advancing close
Up to the lake, past all the rest, arose
In glorious object.

Chapman.

4. That to which efforts are directed; aim; end; ultimate purpose; as, to attain one's object; his object in calling on me was to ask my advice.

There was this difference in his existence before and since his travels; he was now conscious he wanted an object. Disraeli.

5. One who is rendered more or less helpless by disease, accident, or congenital defect; as, a poor, deformed object. [Scotch.]

'What!' roars Macdonald-Yon puir shaughlin' in-kneed scray of a thing! Would ony Christian body even yon bit object to a bonny sonsie weelfaured young woman like Miss Catline?' Lockhart. 6. In gram. the word or member of a sentence or clause expressing that on which the action expressed by a transitive verb in the sentence or clause is exercised, or the word or member governed by a preposition; as in the sentence, He hit the bull's-eye,' bull's-eye is the object of hit; and in the sentence, The chairman stated that he had received several letters of apology,' that he had received several letters of apology is the object of stated, and letters the object of received.

Object (ob-jekt'), v.t. [L. objicio, objectum, to throw or put before, to put in the way, to object-ob, against, and jacio, to throw.] 1. To place before; to set clearly in view; to expose.

Tempestuous times
Amaze poore mortals and object their crimes.
G. Herbert.

Pope.

2. To throw or place in the way; to oppose.
Pallas to their eyes
The mist objected, and condens'd the skies.
Of less account some knight thereto object,
Whose loss so great and harmful can not prove.
Fairfax.

3. To bring forward as a charge or matter
of reproach, or as a ground or reason ad-
verse to something; to state or urge against
or in opposition to; to state as an objec-
tion; as, he objected that the candidate was
too young: frequently with to or against.
It was objected against a late painter that he drew
many graceful pictures, but few of them were like.
Dryden.

There was but this single fault that Erasmus, though an enemy, could object to him. Atterbury. The Normans were apt to object gluttony and drunkenness to the vanquished Saxons, as vices peculiar to their inferior strain. Sir W. Scott.

4. To bring before one's notice; to offer as a proposal; to propose; to suggest. Shak.

OBJURGATION

may be brought forward to that course. 'Your spiteful false objections.' Shak. 'Objections against an hypothesis.' T. Burnet. 3.† Cause of trouble or sorrow; care. [Rare.]

Though the man can run from many hours of his sadness, yet he must return to it again, and when he sits among his neighbours, he remembers the objec tion that lies in his bosom and he sighs deeply., Fer. Taylor. SYN. Exception, difficulty, doubt, scruple. Objectionable (ob-jek'shon-a-bl), a. Capable of being objected to; liable to objection; generally justly liable; calling for disapproval; as, his conduct, his language, is most objectionable.

Objectionably (ob-jek'shon-a-bli), adv. In an objectionable manner; so as to be liable to objection.

Objectist (ob'jekt-ist), n. An adherent of the objective philosophy or doctrine. Eclec. Rev.

Objective (ob-jek'tiv), a. [Fr. objectif.] Belonging to the object: (a) belonging to an object of the mind; belonging to what is external to the mind; hence, when used of poetry, dealing with matters as entirely apart from the writer, containing no trace of the writer's own feelings: opposed to subjective.

Objective certainty is when the proposition is certainly true in itself; and subjective when we are certain of the truth of it. The one is in things, the Watts. other in our minds.

Objective means that which belongs to, or proceeds from, the object known, and not from the subject knowing, and thus denotes what is real, in opposition to that which is ideal-what exists in nature, in contrast to what exists merely in the thought of the individual. Sir W. Hamilton.

They (the Iliad and Odyssey) are so purely objec tive that they seem projected, as it were, into this visible diurnal sphere with hardly a subjective trace adhering to them, and are silent as the stars concerning their own genesis. Prof. Geddes.

(b) In gram. belonging to the object of a transitive verb or a preposition; as, the objective case; the objective clause in a sentence. -Objective line, in persp. any line drawn on the geometrical plane, the representation of which is sought in the draught or picture.-Objective plane, any plane situated in the horizontal plane, whose perspective representation is required.-Objective philosophy, another name for Transcendental Philosophy. Objective point (milit.), the point by establishing himself at which a general obtains some decisive result, either complete in itself, or leading to one which is complete.

The objective point may be either the passage over a river, a pass in a chain of mountains, a fortress the possession of which insures the subjection of the surrounding district, the junction of two rivers or of several roads or railways, or the capital of the country. Sat. Rev.

Objective (ob-jek'tiv), n. 1. In gram. the objective case.-2. The object-glass of the microscope.

Objectively (ob-jektiv-li), adv. In an objective manner.

tinction from a judicial dictum.

Obitual (o-bit'u-al), a. [L. obeo, to die, obitus, death.] Pertaining to obits, or the days when funeral solemnities are celebrated; as, obitual days.

Obituarily (o-bit'ū-a-ri-li), adv. In the

manner of an obituary. Obituary (o-bit'ū-a-ri), n. [Fr. obituaire. See OBIT.] 1. A list of the dead, or a register of obitual anniversary days, when service is performed for the dead.

They had a register wherein they entered the obits or obitual days of their founders or benefactors, which was thence termed the obituary. Facob.

2. An account of persons deceased; notice of the death of a person, often accompanied with a brief biographical sketch of his character.

Obituary (o-bit'ū-a-ri), a. Relating to the decease of a person or persons; as, an obituary notice.

Object (ob'jekt), n. [Fr. objet, L. objectum, objectus. See the verb.] 1. That towards which the mind is directed in any of its states or activities: the object of sight is the thing seen; of thought the thing thought about; of faith, that which is believed in;

of zeal, what we are zealous about: in a philosophical sense, correlative to subject, which is the term applied to the conscious being who sees, thinks, believes, &c.

Those things in ourselves are the only proper obfects of our zeal, which, in others, are the unquestionable subjects of our praises. Bp. Sprat.

You think, and what does thinking include? Manifestly a subject and an object-a thinking being and thought itself. F.D. Morell.

in words or arguments; to offer reasons against; as, the counsel objected to the admission of the plaintiff's witnesses; if he wishes to leave I shall not object. Objectt (ob-jekt), a. Opposed; presented in opposition. Abp. Sandys. Capable of Objectable (ob-jekt'a-bl), a.

being made or urged as an objection. Jer. Object-finder (ob'jekt-find-er), n. In microTaylor. [Rare.] scopes, an eye-piece of low power used to search for an object to be afterwards examined by a more powerful eye-piece. Object-glass (ob'jekt-glas),n. In a telescope or microscope, the lens which first receives the rays of light coming directly from the object, and collects them into a focus, where they form an image which is viewed through the eye-piece. In the finest refracting telescopes the object-glass consists of an achromatic combination of lenses, formed of substances having different dispersive powers, and of such figures that the aberration of the one may be corrected by that of the other. The substances chiefly used are crown-glass and flint-glass.

Objectify (ob-jek'ti-fi), v.t. To form into an object; to constitute anything as an object;

to cause to assume the character of an object. J. D. Morell. Objection (ob-jek'shon), n. [L. objectio, from objicio, to object.] 1. The act of objecting, or of presenting something in opposition.2. That which is or may be presented in opposition; adverse reason, argument, or charge; fault found; as, many objections

or relation of being objective.

Is there such a motion or objectiveness of external bodies which produceth light? Sir M. Hale. Objectivity (ob-jek-tiv'i-ti), n. The quality or state of being objective. Sir W. Hamil

ton.

Objectivize (ob-jektiv-iz), v. i. To philosophize according to the objective philosophy. Objectize (ob'jek-tiz), v.t. To make an object of; to put in the position of an object; to look upon as an object. Coleridge. Objectless (ob'jekt-les), a. Having no object; purposeless; aimless. A lesson Object-lesson (ob'jekt-les-n), n. to the young by presenting to the eye the object to be described or a representation of it.

Objector (ob-jekt'ér), n. One that objects; one that offers arguments or reasons in opposition to a proposition or measure. Objicient (ob-jis'i-ent), n. One who objects; an objector; an opponent. Cardinal Wiseman. [Rare.]

Objuration (ob-jū-ra'shon), n. [From L. objuro, to bind by oath-prefix ob, and juro, to swear.] The act of binding by oath. Bramhall.

[L. objurgoObjurgate (ob-jér'gāt), v.t. prefix ob, and jurgo, to chide.] To chide; to reprove.

Objurgation (ob-jér-ga'shon), n. [L. objurgatio, from objurgo, to chide.] The act of chiding by way of censure; reproof; reprehension.

While the good lady was bestowing this objurgation on Mr. Ben Allen, Bob Sawyer and Mr. Pickwick had retired. Dickens.

OBJURGATORY

Objurgatory (ob-jėr'ga-to-ri), a. Having the character of an objurgation; containing censure or reproof; culpatory. Paley. Oblanceolate (ob-lans'ol-ät), a. [Prefix ob, reversed, and lanceolate.] In bot. shaped like a lance-point reversed, that is, having the tapering point next the leaf-stalk: said of certain leaves.

Oblat (ob'lat), n. Same as Oblate.

Oblate (ob'lat), a. [L. oblatus, thrust forward (ie. at the equator), from offero, oblatum, to offer.] In geom. flattened or depressed at the poles. -Oblate spheroid, a spheroid flattened at the poles, a figure such as would be generated by the revolution of a semi-ellipse about its lesser axis. Oblate (ob'lát), n. [L. oblatus, offered, devoted.] Eccles. (a) a secular person who, in the middle ages, devoted himself, his dependants and estates, to some monastery, into which he was admitted as a kind of lay brother. (b) A member of a congregation of secular priests who live in community, devoting themselves to the cure of souls under a bishop. Oblates were first introduced into the diocese of Milan by St. Charles Borromeo about the close of the sixteenth century, and the congregation as thus instituted was introduced into England by Archbishop Manning. Other communities have a similar title; as, the oblates of Mary Immaculate. Called also Oblate Fathers.

Oblate (ob'lāt), v.t. To offer as an oblation; to devote to the service of God or of the church. Rev. Orby Shipley.

Oblateness (ob'lat-nes), n. The quality or state of being oblate.

Oblation (ob-la'shon), n. [L. oblatio, an offering, from offero, oblatum, to bring forward, to offer-prefix ob, and fero, to bear or bring.] 1. Anything offered or presented in worship or sacred service; an offering; a sacrifice.

Bring no more vain oblations. Is. i. 13. Specifically, in the early Christian church, a gift or contribution for the expenses of the eucharist, or for the support of the clergy and poor.-2. In canon law, anything offered to God and the church, whether movables or immovables.

Oblationer + (ob-la'shon-ér), n. One who makes an offering as an act of worship or

Oblatrate (ob-la'trāt), v.i. [L. oblatro, oblatratum, to bark against-ob, against, and latro, to bark.] To bark; to snarl; to rail against. Cockeram.

Oblatration (ob-la-trā'shon), n. Barking; snarling; quarrelsome or captious objection or objections. 'Currish oblatrations.' Bp. Hall.

Oblectatet (ob-lek'tāt), v.t. [L. oblecto, to please.] To delight; to please highly. Cotgrave.

Oblectationt (ob-lek-ta'shon), n. The act of pleasing highly; delight. "Such oblectations that can be had in godliness.' Feltham.

Obligant (ob'li-gant), n. In Scots law, one who binds himself by a legal tie to pay or perform something to another person. Obligate (ob'li-gāt), v. t. [L.obligo, obligatum, to bind, to bring under an obligationprefix ob, and ligo, to bind.] To bring or place under some obligation; to bind, oblige, or constrain legally or morally; to hold to some duty. That they may not incline or be obligated to any vile or lowly occupations.' Landor.

That's your true plan-to obligate

The present minister of state. Churchill. [These quotations are given by Goodrich. The word does not seem to be much used by good writers, and by some authorities it is stigmatized as vulgar. It is common enough in Scotland, as it is also said to be in America. In the following quotation it is used without an object.

This oath he himself explains as obligating, not merely to a passive compliance with the statutory enactments, but to an active maintenance of their authority. Sir W. Hamilton.] Obligation (ob-li-gā'shon), n. [L. obligatio, from obligo, to bind, oblige.] 1. That which binds or obliges to do something; binding or constraining power, as that belonging to a promise, oath, or contract, or to law, civil, political, or moral, independent of a promise; that which constitutes legal or moral duty.

An obligation is something which constrains or induces us to act. Jeffrey.

288

In seeing a thing to be right, we are under obligation to do it. Fleming.

2. An external act or duty imposed by the relations of society; a duty towards our fellow-men; a claim upon one.

Every man has obligations which belong to his station. Duties extend beyond obligations, and direct the affections, desires, and intentions, as well as the actions. Whewell.

3. The position in which one is bound or indebted to another for a favour received; a favour bestowed and binding to gratitude; as, his kindness has frequently laid me under obligations to him.-4. In law, a bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed, for payment of money, performance of covenants, or the like. A bond is styled a writing obligatory. In Scots law, an obligation is defined to be a legal tie by which one is bound to pay or perform something to another. The debtor whom the English term the obligor, is in Scotland termed the obligant or granter, and the creditor in the obligation (termed in England the obligee) the receiver or grantee. Obligato (ob-le-ga'tō). See OBBLIGATO. Obligatorily (obli-ga-to-ri-li), adv. In an obligatory manner; by obligation. Obligatoriness (ob'li-ga-to-ri-nes), n. State of being obligatory. Obligatory (ob'li-ga-to-ri), a.

Imposing

obligation; binding in law or conscience; imposing duty; requiring performance or forbearance of some act: followed by on before the person.

As long as law is obligatory, so long our obedience is due. Fer. Taylor. If this patent is obligatory on them, it is contrary to acts of parliament, and therefore void. Swift. Formerly followed by to.

And concerning the lawfulness, not only permis sively, but whether it be not obligatory to Christian princes and states.

Bacon.

Oblige (ō-blij', formerly o-blēj'; see extract from Pope). [Fr. obliger, from L. obligo, to bind, to oblige-ob, and ligo, to bind, whence obligate, ligament.] 1. To secure the attachment or favour of; to attach.

He had obliged all the senators and magistrates firmly to himself. Bacon.

2. To constrain by any force, physical, moral, or legal; to compel by any power or influence; to bind by any restraint.

The obliging power of the law is neither founded in, nor to be measured by, the rewards and punishments annexed to it. South.

3. To bind by some favour done to; to lay under a debt; to lay under obligation of gratitude.

Thus man, by his own strength, to heaven would soar,
And would not be obliged to God for more. Dryden.
Sneered at by fools, by flatterers besieged,
And so obliging that he ne'er obliged. Pope.
Hence-4. In the passive, to be indebted; to

Let this fair princess but one minute stay, A look from her will your obligements pay. Dryden. Obliger (ō-blij'er), n. One that obliges. Obliging (ō-blij'ing), a. Having the disposition to do favours, or actually conferring them; complaisant; kind.

Mons. Strozzi has many curiosities, and is very obliging to a stranger that desires the sight of them. Addison.

Obligingly (ō-blīj'ing-li), adv. In an obliging manner; with civility; kindly; complaisantly.

I see her taste each nauseous draught,
And so obligingly am caught,

Swift.

I bless the hand from whence they came. Obligingness (ō-blij'ing-nes), n. 1. The state or quality of being obliging; civility; complaisance; disposition to exercise kindness. Such condescension and obligingness.' Iz. Walton.-2. Binding power; obligation. [Rare.]

These legal institutions did consequently set a period to the obligingness of those institutions. Hammond.

Obligor (ob-li-gor), n. In law, the person who binds himself or gives his bond to another.

OBLIQUITY

Obligulate (ob-lig'û-lāt), a. [L. ob, inversely, and ligula, a strap.] In bot. extended on the inner, instead of the outer, side of the capitulum or head: said of the corollas of some ligulate florets.

Obliquation (ob-li-kwä'shon), n. [L. obli-
quatio, from obliquus, oblique.] 1. Declina-
tion from a straight line or course; a turn-
ing to one side. "The obliquation of the
eyes.' Newton.-2. Deviation from moral
rectitude. [Rare in both senses.]
Oblique (ob-lek' or ob-lik'), a. [L. obliquus
-prefix ob, and liquis, awry; Fr. oblique.]
1. Having a direction neither perpendicular
nor parallel to some line or surface which
is made the standard of reference; not
direct; aslant; slanting.

If straight thy track, or if oblique,
Thou know'st not. Shadows thou dost strike.
Tennyson.

2. Indirect, in a figurative sense; hence, occasionally, underhand; as, an oblique reproach or taunt. Hence-3. Malignant; envious; unpropitious. Oblique Saturn.' Spenser. 'The restless, oblique eye that looks for evil.' Wordsworth.-4. Not direct in descent; collateral.

His natural affection in a direct line was strong, in Baker. an oblique line weak. -Oblique angle, any angle except a right angle. Oblique arch, in arch. an arch whose direction is not at right angles to its axis; a skew arch. Oblique bridge, a skew bridge. See under BRIDGE.-Oblique case, in gram. any case except the nominative. -Oblique circle, in spherical projections, a circle whose plane is oblique to the axis of the primitive plane.-Oblique cone or cylinder, one whose axis is oblique to the plane of its base. -Oblique leaf, in bot. a leaf in which the parenchyma or cellular tissue is not symmetrically developed on each side of the midrib or stalk.-Oblique motion, in music, a kind of motion or progression in which one of the parts in harmony proceeds on the same degree of the scale while another ascends or descends. -Oblique muscle, in anat. a muscle having an oblique direction as regards the plane that divides the body into two symmetrical halves.-Oblique plane, in dialling, a plane which declines from the zenith or inclines toward the horizon.-Oblique sailing (naut.), the movement of a ship when she sails upon some rhumb between the four cardinal points, making an oblique angle with the meridian. Oblique speech, in rhet. that which is quoted indirectly, or in a different person from that employed by the original speaker. Thus, the sentence, I have been learning geometry,' when reported by another, becomes in oblique speech, He said that he had been learning geometry.' Called also Oblique Narration. Oblique sphere, in astron. and geog. the celestial or terrestrial sphere when its axis is oblique to the horizon of the place; or its position to an observer at any point on the earth except the poles and the equator. Oblique system of co-ordinates, in analytical geom. a system in which the co-ordinate axes are oblique to each other. See CoORDINATE, n.

Oblique (ob-lek' or ob-lik), v. i. 1. To deviate from a direct line, or from the perpendicular; to slant; to slope. [Rare.]

Projecting his person toward it in a line which obliqued from the bottom of his spine. Sir W. Scott. 2. Milit. to advance obliquely by stepping sidewise.

Oblique-angled (ob-lek'ang-gld or ob-lik'ang-gld), a. Having oblique angles; as, an oblique-angled triangle.

Obliquely (ob-lēk'li or ob-likli), adv. In an oblique manner or direction: (a) not directly; not perpendicularly.

Declining from the noon of day,

The sun obliquely shoots his burning ray. Pope. (b) Indirectly; by a side glance; by an allusion; not in the direct or plain meaning. His discourse tends obliquely to the detracting from others. Addison.

Obliqueness (ob-lēk'nes or ob-lik'nes), n. Obliquity. Obliquid + (ob-lik'wid), a. Oblique. Spenser. Obliquity (ob-lik'wi-ti), n. [L. obliquitas, from obliquus, oblique; Fr. obliquité.] The state of being oblique: (a) deviation from parallelism or perpendicularity; as, the obliquity of the ecliptic to the equator. See ECLIPTIC. (b) Deviation from moral rectitude.

To disobey or oppose His will in anything imports a moral obliquity. South

OBLITERATE

(c) Irregularity; deviation from ordinary rules.

Obliterate (ob-lit'èr-at), v.t. [L. oblitero, to blot out, to cause to be forgotten-prefix ob, and litera, a letter.] 1. To efface; to erase or blot out; to make undecipherable; as, a writing may be obliterated by erasure, by blotting, or by the slow operation of time or natural causes.-2. To wear out; to destroy by time or other means; to cause to be forgotten; as, to obliterate ideas or impressions.

Let men consider themselves as ensnared in that unhappy contract which has rendered them part of the Devil's possession, and contrive how they may obliterate that reproach. More.

This is what distance does for us, the harsh and bitter features of this or that experience are slowly obliterated and memory begins to look kindly on the past. W. Black.

3. To reduce to a very low or imperceptible state; as, the pulse was obliterated. -Obliterated vessel or duct, in pathol. a vessel or duct whose walls have contracted such an adhesion to each other that the cavity has completely disappeared. Obliterate (ob-lit'èr-at), a. In entom. a term applied to impressions and elevations nearly effaced or obliterated.

Obliteration (ob-lit'er-a"shon), n. 1. The act of obliterating or effacing; effacement; a blotting out or wearing out; extinction.2. In pathol. the closure of a canal or cavity of the body by adhesion of its walls. Obliterative (ob-lit'ér-at-iv), a. Tending to obliterate; obliterating; effacing; erasing. Oblivial (ob-liv'i-al), a. Forgetful; oblivious. Maunder.

Oblivion (ob-liv'i-on), n. [L. oblivio, oblivionis, from obliviscor, to forget-prefix ob, and obs. liviscor, from liveo, to become black.] 1. The state of being blotted out from the memory; the being forgotten.

Till each to razed oblivion yield his part Of thee, thy record never can be miss'd. Shak. The origin of our city will be buried in eternal oblivion. Irving.

Dryden.

2. Forgetfulness; the act of forgetting. Among our crimes oblivion may be set. Can they imagine that God has therefore forgot their sins because they are not willing to remember them? or will they measure his pardon by their own oblivion 1 South.

3. A forgetting of offences, or remission of punishment. An act of oblivion is an amnesty or general pardon of crimes and offences granted by a sovereign, by which punishment is remitted. Sir J. Davies. Oblivious (ob-liv'i-us), a. [L. obliviosus. See OBLIVION.] 1. Causing forgetfulness. 'Some sweet oblivious antidote.' Shak.

Behold the wonders of th' oblivious lake. Pope. 2. Forgetful. Through age both weak in body and oblivious.' Latimer.

The shake had jumbled the fat boy's faculties together instead of arranging them in proper order, or had roused such a quantity of new ideas within him as to render him oblivious of ordinary forms and ceremonies. Dickens.

Obliviously (ob-liv'i-us-li), adv. In an oblivious manner; forgetfully. Obliviousness (ob-liv'i-us-nes), n. State of being oblivious. Oblocutor (ob-lo'ku-tor), n. A gainsayer. Bale.

Oblong (ob'long), a. [L. oblongus, oblong.] 1. Longer than broad; rectangular, and having the length greater than the breadth. -Oblong spheroid, a term sometimes used for a prolate spheroid. See PROLATE.-2. In bot. elliptical; obtuse at each end, as the leaves of Hypericum perforatum. Oblong (ob long), n. A figure which is longer than it is broad; specifically, in geom. a right-angled parallelogram or rectangle, whose length exceeds its breadth.

The best figure of a garden I esteem an oblong upon a descent. Sir W. Temple.

Oblongish (ob'long-ish), a. Somewhat oblong.

Oblongly (oblong-li), adv. form; as, oblongly shaped. Oblongness (oblong-nes), n. being oblong.

In an oblong

The state of

Oblong-ovate (oblong-ō-vät), a. In bot. between oblong and ovate. Obloquious (ob-lo'kwi-us), a. Containing obloquy; reproachful. Apt to rise and vent in obloquious acrimony.' "Sir R. Naunton. [Rare.]

Obloquy (oblo-kwi), n. [L. obloquium, from obloquor-ob, against, and loquor, to speak.] 1. Censorious speech; reproachful language;

My chastity's the jewel of our house
Which were the greatest obloquy i' the world
In me to lose.

Shak. SYN. Reproach, odium, censure, contumely, reviling, calumny, slander, detraction. Obluctation (ob-luk-ta'shon), n. [L. obluctor-ob, against, and luctor, to struggle.] A struggling or striving against; resistance. "That artificial obluctation and facing out of the matter.' Fotherby. [Rare.] Obmutescence † (ob-mu-tes'ens), n. [L. obmutesco, to be silent-prefix ob, and mutus, dumb.] 1. Loss of speech; dumbness. Sir T. Browne.-2. A keeping silence. 'The obmutescence, the gloom, and mortification Paley. of religious orders. Obnoxious (ob-nok'shus), a. [L. obnoxius -ob, and noxa, harm, hurt, from root of noceo, to hurt.] 1. Liable or exposed to harm or injury; exposed to punishment; liable or exposed in general: generally with

to.

We know ourselves obnoxious to God's severe justice. Calamy.

They leave the government a trunk, naked, defenceless, and obnoxious to every storm. Davenant. 2. Subject; answerable; bound: with to. 'Esteeming it more honorable to live on the public than to be obnoxious to any private purse.' Milton. 'The writings of lawyers, which are tied and obnoxious to their particular laws.' Bacon.-3. Reprehensible; censurable; not approved. 'Obnoxious authors.' Fell.-4. Odious; hateful; offensive; unpopular. 'One is popular, another obnoxious. Blackstone.' Obnoxious to a political party.' Whately. Obnoxiously (ob-nok'shus-li), adv. In an obnoxious manner; reprehensibly; odiously; offensively.

The

Obnoxiousness (ob-nok'shus-nes), n. state of being obnoxious: (a) liability. (b) Reprehensibleness; odiousness; offensiveness; unpopularity. The conscience of his own obnoxiousness.' Bp. Hall. Obnubilate (ob-nu'bil-āt), v. t. [L. obnubilor, to cloud-prefix ob, and nubilus, cloudy, from nubes, mist, cloud.] To cloud; to obscure. [Rare.]

But corporal life doth so obnubilate Our inward eyes that they be nothing bright. Dr. H. More. Obnubilation (ob-nu'bi-la"shon), n. The act or operation of obnubilating or making dark or obscure. [Rare.]

Oboe (ō'boi), n. [It. oboè, from Fr. hautbois, an oboe.] See HAUTBOY. Oboist (ob'ō-ist), n. A player on the oboe; a hautboyist.

Obole (ob'ōl), n. [See OBOLUS.] In phar. the weight of 10 grains, or half a scruple. Obolite-grit (ob'o-lit-grit), n. In geol. the lower silurian sandstone of Russia and Sweden. It has its name from the obolus, a brachiopod mollusc whose shells are very abundant in it. Obolize (ob'ol-iz), v.t. Same as Obelize. Obolo (ob'o-lō), n. A copper coin of the Ionian Islands, in value about a halfpenny. Obolus (ob'o-lus), n. [L., from Gr. obolos.] 1. A small coin of ancient Greece, latterly of silver, the sixth part of an Attic drachma, equal to 1d.; multiples and submultiples of this coin were also used, and pieces of the value of 5, 4, 3, 2, 14 oboli, and, d, 4th of an obo

OBOAO

Brass Obolus of Metapontum. A, Actual diameter of coin.

lus respectively are to be found in collections.--2. A small ancient weight, the sixth part of an Attic drachm.-3. A genus of fossil bivalves belonging to the Lingula family, characterized by their smooth spherical shells, with their valves scarcely equal. There are several species occurring in the silurians of Northern Europe. See ŎBOLITE

GRIT.

i, Fr. ton; ng, sing; TH, then; th, thin;

Obovoid (ob-o'void), a.
bot. approaching the obovate
form.

Obreption (ob-rep'shon), n. [L. obreptio, from obrepo, to creep up to-prefix ob, and repo, to creep.] 1. The act of creeping on with secrecy or by surprise. Cudworth. 2. In Scots law, the obtaining gifts of escheat, &c., by telling a falsehood. The obtaining of such gifts by concealing the truth is termed subreption.

[See

Obreptitious (ob-rep-ti'shus), a. above.] Done or obtained by surprise; with secrecy, falsehood, or by concealment of the truth.

Obrogatet (ob'rō-gāt), v.t. [L. obrogo, obrogatum-ob, against, and rogo, to ask.] To propose or proclaim a new and contrary law for the purpose of annulling the old one; to abrogate. Bailey.

Obrotund (ob-rō-tund'), a. In bot. approaching a round form.

Obrutet (ob'rut), v.t. [L. obruo, obrutum, to throw down.] To overthrow. "The misery : wherewith ye were obruted and overwhelmed.' Becon.

Obscene (ob-sen'), a. [L. obscenus, obscœnus, filthy, repulsive, ill-omened, obscene: etymol. doubtful.] 1. Impure in language or action; indecent; offensive to chastity and delicacy; smutty; as, obscene language; obscene pictures.

Words that were once chaste, by frequent use Watts. grew obscene and uncleanly.

2. Foul; filthy; offensive; disgusting. A girdle foul with grease binds his obscene attire. Dryden. 3. Inauspicious; ill-omened. At the cheerful light The groaning ghosts and birds obscene take flight. Dryden. SYN. Impure, immodest, indecent, unchaste, lewd. Obscenely (ob-senli), adv. In an obscene manner; offensive to chastity or purity; impurely; unchastely.

Obsceneness, Obscenity (ob-sen'nes, obsen'i-ti), n. The state or quality of being obscene; impurity in expression, representation, or action; that quality in words or things which presents what is offensive to chastity or purity of mind; ribaldry; lewd

No pardon vile obscenity should find. Pope. Obscenous+ (ob-sen'us), a. Obscene; impure. 'Obscenous in recital, and hurtful in example.' Sir J. Harington.

Obscenousness† (ob-sen'us-nes), n. Obscenity. Ribaldry or obscenousness.' Sir J. Harington.

Obscurant (ob-skū'rant), n.

One who obscures; one who opposes the progress of knowledge, or who labours to prevent enlightenment, inquiry, or reform; an obscurantist.

Same as

Foiled in this attempt, the obscurants of that venerable seminary resisted only the more strenuously every effort at a reform. Sir W. Hamilton. Obscurantism (ob-skü'rant-izm), n. The system or principles of an obscurant. Obscurantist (ob-sku'rant-ist), n. Obscurant. North Brit. Rev. Obscuration (ob-sků-rā'shon), n. [L. obscuratio, from obscuro, to darken. See OBSCURE. The act of obscuring or darkening; the state of being darkened or obscured; as, the obscuration of the moon in an eclipse.

As to the sun and moon, their obscuration or change of colour happens commonly before the eruption of a fiery mountain. Bp. Burnet. Obscure (ob-skür), a. [Fr. obscur, from L. obscurus-prefix ob, and root seen in scutum, a shield, and in Skr. sku, to cover.] 1. Imperfectly illuminated; deprived of light; gloomy; murky.

Whoso curseth his father or mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. Prov. xx. 20. 2. Living in darkness. [Rare.]

The obscure bird clamour'd the live-long night.
Shak.

3. Not easily understood; not obviously intelligible; abstruse; indistinct; as, the meaning is very obscure.

I explain some of the most obscure passages, and those which are most necessary to be understood. Dryden.

w, wig; wh, whig; zh, azure.-See KEY.