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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread obligate/obligation--oblige #63956 04/05/02 05:46 AM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill OP Carpal Tunnel OP WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... The question is "does oblige share the etymology of obligate/obligation?" Obligate has two different meanings...the most familiar, to bind legally or morally, or to commit; and the other, (pronunced with the short "a" --git) restricted to one particular mode of life, essential, necessary, an obligate paramecium. Obligation, of course, comes out of the former, commitment. From Merriam-Webster's: Main Entry: oblige Function: verb Inflected Form(s): obliged; oblig·ing Etymology: Middle English, from Old French obliger, from Latin obligare, literally, to bind to, from ob- toward + ligare to bind -- more at LIGATURE Date: 14th century transitive senses 1 : to constrain by physical, moral, or legal force or by the exigencies of circumstance <obliged to find a job> 2 a : to put in one's debt by a favor or service <we are much obliged for your help> b : to do a favor for <always ready to oblige a friend> intransitive senses : to do something as or as if a favor And, if so, how did oblige form off from obligate/obligation? Or did I just answer my own question? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: obligate/obligation--oblige #63957 04/05/02 02:32 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 W wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Some parasites may be able to survive without a host for some time, but many parasites can not, and so are obligate parasites. As to range of meanings for the oblig- words, if you use "bind, bound" you can easily find many ways to use it. I am bound to bind my laces, lest in mid bound I become shoeless. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: obligate/obligation--oblige #63958 04/05/02 03:38 PM Joined: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,605 K Keiva Carpal Tunnel Keiva Carpal Tunnel K Joined: Aug 2001 Posts: 2,605 You prove my point dr. bill: I told you earlier today that despite age, you are still a bounder of the first order. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: noblesse oblige #63959 04/05/02 03:52 PM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill OP Carpal Tunnel OP WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... Then there's also noblesse oblige: [F, Lit. nobility obligates] the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with a high rank or birth. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: obligate/obligation--oblige #63960 04/05/02 03:57 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 W wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel W Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 I hope WO'N doesn;t hate me for the diversion, but the word "bounder" interests me. I got the impression from way it was used in English novels that it suggested distaste for naive new students who exhibited too much enthusiasm, and then changed slightly to mean capable of unpleasant behaviour. What's your take on it? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: obligate/obligation--oblige #63961 04/06/02 09:49 AM Joined: Nov 2000 Posts: 3,146 Northamptonshire, England Capital Kiwi Carpal Tunnel Capital Kiwi Carpal Tunnel Joined: Nov 2000 Posts: 3,146 Northamptonshire, England "Bounder" has always meant a cad, an ill-bred oaf, someone maliciously acting outside the bounds of normal behaviour - or at least in my experience. That's the only way I've ever seen it used. Flashman in Tom Brown's Schooldays is a rather good example of one ... The idiot also known as Capfka ... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter boundless energy #63962 04/06/02 10:59 AM Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 104 M moss member moss member M Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 104 I am bound to bind my shoelaces lest I become shoeless in mid-bound Wonderful play on words, wwh, and most instructive too. I am bound and determined to match your bounding imagination but I am too hide-bound to escape my creative bindings. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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