Legal Writing

Obsessed With Ob- Words

By Sharon

The other day, someone used a word that I hadn’t heard in a long time: obstreperous. I love the way that rolls off the tongue. It means noisy, unruly, belligerent, cantankerous - you get the picture. Obstreperous originates from the Latin prefix ob- (against) and strepere (to make a noise). A drunk being hustled out of a bar, while protesting loudly might be described as obstreperous.

Other meanings for the prefix ‘ob’ include contrary, against, towards or in the way of. It appears in several English words including:

• obdurate (from the Latin durare - to harden) - inflexible
• object (from the Latin iacere - to throw) - argue against
• obligate (from the Latin ligare - to bind) - bind legally
• obliterate (from the Latin litera - letter) - erase or destroy
• obnoxious (from the Latin noxius - harmful) - offensive
• obsession (from the Latin sidere - to besiege) - persistent preoccupation
• obstacle (from the Latin stare - to stand still) - a barrier
• obstinate (from the Latin struere- to stand) - stubborn
• obstruct (from the Latin struere- to pile up) - impede

Variations of ob- include oc-, of-, op-, and o- in words such as:

• occasion (from the Latin cadere - to fall) - opportunity
• occlude(from the Latin claudere - to shut) - obstruct
• occult (from the Latin culere - to cover) - shut off from view
• occupy (from the Latin capere/cupare - to seize) - take possession of
• occur (from the Latin currere - to run) - happen
• offend (from the Latin fendere - to hit) - violate or cause pain
• offer (from the Latin ferre - to carry) - present or make available
• omit (from the Latin mittere - to send) - leave out
• opponent (from the Latin ponere - to place) - adversary

More ob- words on Obnoxious Observations

Obsessed With Ob- Words

Full post as published by Daily Writing Tips on August 01, 2008 (boomark / email).