500 Mr. Pickering on the present state of the Engiish language 
in his majesty’s service.” Duke of York’s General Orders, Sept. 10, 1813. 
In advertisements in the newspapers, where we should commonly say, 
the fiublic, or the inhabitants of the town, &c. are hereby notified, the Eng- 
lish would say, Votice is hereby given,” &c. 
O. 
To OBLIGATE. “ The word oddigate is unnecessary, and has no respectable 
support.” Review of Mr. Webster's Dict. in the Monthig. feeen sy» 
vol. vil. p. 263.. 
To OBLIVIATE ; to cause to be forgotten: I have never seen this ‘extraordi- 
nary word but once in any American publication. 
OBNOXIOUS. This has been generally used by American writers in the sense 
of odious, offensive, noxious, disagreeable, &c. “Habit renders the burden 
not only less obnoxiows, but less oppressive also.” Marsh. Life of Washing. 
vol. v. p. 264, The English formerly used odnoxious in the sense of 
liable or subject to; and Johnson accordingly explains each of these words 
by the others... But the practice in England is not invariable. . A writer in. 
the ceeds se ae (for Sept. 1806, p. 182) mentions among the 
Aropri sent day in England a thin ¢ “ use a of ihe: word obnox- 
a 
EE ree Sean ee es Sy Ca 1 eas er Now, 
58 iy vedatu ee: 
“Sy, j you pak é Sys he t6: B the adit) that the fact i is, , that the wortt § is per- 
fectly innocent of any such meaning, and that it simply implies, incident, 
liable, or subject to; such as, that people are obzozxious (liable) to agues.” 
The use of this word in the sense of odious or offensive does not seem to 
to be altogether an impropriety of the present day. Ash (who wrote forty 
"years ago) mentions this as one of the meanings of the word; he says, how- 
“ever, that “ this'sense is colloguial.” At the present day it is often used in 
writing. “ Every proposition made in your parliament to remove the orig 
inal cause of these troubles by taking off taxes obnoxious for their princi- | 
ple or their design, had. been overruled.” ‘Burke’s Fourth Letter on the 
Regicide Peace. “ While, therefore, the Church of Rome declares any 
mitigation of her most obzoxious doctrines to be impossible,” &c. Quart 
Rev. Jan. 1814, p. 421. 
