obeisance

• obeisaunce, obeissance, abaisance (obsolete)

From Middle English obeisaunce (“obedience, obeisance”), from Old French obeïssance, derived from obeïssant (“obedient”), participle of obeïr (“to obey”), from Latin oboedire, obedire; ob- (“to, for”) + audire (“to hear”). Cognate with obedience.

• IPA^(key): /əˈbiː.səns/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /əʊˈbeɪ.səns/, /əˈbeɪ.səns/

  • Audio (Southern England)

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• (US) IPA^(key): /oʊˈbeɪ.səns/, /oʊˈbiː.səns/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Hyphenation: o‧bei‧sance
• Rhymes: -eɪsəns

obeisance (countable and uncountable, plural obeisances)

1. Demonstration of an obedient attitude, especially by bowing deeply; a deep bow which demonstrates such an attitude.
   • 1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review‎, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y., London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC:

     In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore; / Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

   • 1915 April, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], “Alone the Immortals”, in Fifty-one Tales, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, →OCLC:

     But looking upwards in the blaze of the moon I suddenly saw colossi sitting near, and towering up and blotting out the stars and filling the night with blackness; and at those idols’ feet I saw praying and making obeisance kings and the days that are and all times and all cities and all nations and all their gods.

   • 1962, J. L. Austin, How To Do Things With Words, OUP paperback edition, page 69:

     The situation in the case of actions which are non-linguistic but similar to performative utterances in that they are the performance of a conventional action (here ritual or ceremonial) is rather like this: suppose I bow deeply before you; it might not be clear whether I am doing obeisance to you or, say, stooping to observe the flora or to ease my indigestion.

2. An obedient attitude.

• Usually in the phrases do obeisance or make obeisance.

• kiss someone's ring