This week's theme
Words that have changed with time

This week's words
harbinger
obsequious
restive
garble
pabulum

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ob-SEE-kwee-uhs, uhb-)

MEANING:

adjective: Behaving in an ingratiating or servile manner.

ETYMOLOGY:

Earlier the word meant obedient or dutiful, with no connotations of fawning. Over time it has taken a negative turn. From Latin obsequiosus (compliant), from obsequi (to comply), from ob- (to) + sequi (follow), which also gave us obsequy. Earliest documented use: 1447.

USAGE:

"The staff has the sense of hospitality without being obsequious." Bill Clapper; Sushi and Sake Equal A Satisfying Experience;
Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Apr 24, 2014.

"I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board." -Henry David Thoreau

See more usage examples of obsequious in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: