obscure 
of their several arches, and a distinct Idea too, while the 
eye tlxes there ; but when we con.-idei- tin- border of those 
4063 
observable 
Here I II 
[Chrys. withdraws.) Obsequies, . Plural of // HI/. 
Shirley. Love in a Maze, iv. 1 obsequlOSlty (oh-sf'-kwi-oH'i-t i ), . 
obne- 
ay be quite 
And therefore |hc) encr so laboured to set his worde 
in such obscure and douhtful fashion that he might* hauc 
alwaye some refuse at some starting hole. 
Sir T. Mure, Works, p. 554. 
Now bolder fires appear, 
And o'er the palpaule obscureinent sport, 
Glaring and gay as falling Lucifer. 
I'oni/ret, Dies Novissima, 
If we here be a little obscure, 'tis our pleasure; for rather obsCUreneSS (ob-skur'nes), M. The property of 
than we will offer to be our own interpreters, we are re- being obscure, in any sense of that word. 
solved not to be understood. 
I!. Jonson, Gipsies Metamorphosed. 
Tin- text that sorts not with his darling whim, 
Though plain to others, is obscure to him. 
Coipper, Progress of Error, 1. 447. 
6. Hidden; retired; remote from observation: 
as, an obsciirr village. 
My short-wing'd Muse doth haunt 
None but the obscure corners of the earth. 
Sir J. Dames, Bien Venu, II. 
We put up for the night In an obscure Inn, hi a village 
by the way. Goldsmith, Vicar, ill. 
7. Unknown to fame; unnoticed; hence, hum- 
ble; lowly: as, an obscure curate. 
I am a thing obscure, disfurnished of 
All merit Massinger, Picture, lit B. 
Man he loved 
As man ; and to the mean and the obscure . . . 
Transferred a courtesy which had no air 
Of condescension. Wordsworth, Prelude, ix. 
obscurer (ob-skur'er), M. One who orthat which 
obscures or darkens. 
It was pity desolation and loneliness should be such a 
waster and obscurer of such loveliness. 
Lord, Hist. Banians, p. 24. (Latham) 
obscurity (ob-sku'ri-ti), n.; pi. obscurities (-tiz). 
[< F. obwuritd = Sp. obscuridad = Pg. obscuri- 
dade = It. oscurita, < L. obscurita(t-)s, a being 
dark, darkness, < obscurus, dark: see obscure.} 
The quality or state of being obscure; dark- 
ness; dimness; uncertainty of meaning; unin- 
telligibleness; an obscure place, state, or con- 
dition; especially, the condition of being un- 
known. 
We wait for light, but behold obscurity. Isa. Hi. 9. 
obsequious 1 (ob-se'kwi-us), 
E. <ilsi:i/iiyous; < OF. obsequituz, F. otorfgttfeiu 
= 8p. Pg. obse</uioso = It. osgequiono, < L. l>m 
quiiifiu*, compliant, submissive, < iibsri/iiiiini. 
compliance: see obsequy 1 .} 1. Promptly obe- 
dient or submissive to the will of another: 
ever ready to obey, serve, or assist; compli- 
ant; dutiful. [Obsolescent.] 
He came vnto the kynges grace, and way ted rppon hym, 
and was no man so obscfruymts and seruiceable. 
Tyndale, Works, p. 30H. 
I see you are obsequious in your lore. 
Shak., M. W. of W., IT. 2. 2. 
One that ever strove, methought, 
By special service and obsequious care, 
To win respect from you. 
Ford, Love's Sacrifice, I. 2. 
give us a taste and glimpse, as it were, of those great and 
8 In entom.: (a) Not distinct: as, obscure glorious truths which shall hereafter fully be discovered 
punctures. (6) Not clear ; dull or semi-opaque : to us In another world. Up. Atterbury, Sermons, II. Ix. 
as, obscure green or red. Obscure rays, in the These are the old friends who are . . . the same . . . 
spectrum, the invisible heat-rays. See pecf runt. =Syn. 1. in glory and in obscurity. Hacaulay, Lord Bacon. 
Dark, dim, darksome, dusky, rayless, murky. 4 and 6. =Syn. Dimness, Bloom, etc. (fee darkness), shade, obscu- 
Obscure, Doubtful, Dubious, Ambiguous, Equivocal; dim- ration ; retirement, seclusion. 
cult, intricate, vague, mysterious, enigmatical. In re- ODSecra te (ob'se-krat), V. t.; pret. and pp. obse- 
Z^&ySff^^^3^ crated,^, obsccrating. [< P L. obsecratus ,, pp. 
insufficient to enable one to see with any clearness; this of obsecrare (> It. ossecrare = Pg. Obsecrar), en- 
figure is still felt in all the uses of the word. Doubtful is treat, beseech, conjure in solemn sort, < ob, be- 
literal, meaning full of doubt, quite impossible of decision 
or determination, on account of Insufficient knowledge. 
Dubious may be the same as doubtful, hut tends to the 
special meaning of that doubtfulness which involves anxi- 
ety or suspicion : as, dubious battle ; dubious prospects ; 
a dubious character. Ainbiffuous applies to the use of 
words, intentionally or otherwise, In a way that makes 
Hence 2. Servilely complaisant ; showing a 
mean readiness to fall in with the will of an- 
other; cringing; fawning; sycophantic. 
I pity kings, whom Worship waits upon 
Obsequious from the cradle to the throne. 
Couyer, Table-Talk, L 122. 
= Syn. 2. Servile, slavish, sycophantic. See obedience. 
God left these obscurities in Holy Writ on purpose to obsequioUS 2 t (ob-se'kwi-us), a. [< obsequy'^ + 
-ous, after obsequious^.'} 1. Funereal; pertain- 
I choose rather to live graved In obscurity. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, Ded. 
plicate. 
Cockeram. 
airservice employed 
"s protection. 
t IK L " l.->i', 111 a waj in.ii iii.irv 
certainty of interpretation impossible; but it may be used obsecration (ob-ge-kra shgn),_l. [= r. obsc- 
in other connections : as, an ambiguous smile. Equivocal 
applies to that which Is ambiguous by deliberate inten- 
tion. See <farvbias. 7. Uuhonored, inglorious. 
Il.t Obscurity. 
Who shall tempt with wandering feet 
The dark unbottom'd infinite abyss, 
And through the palpable obscure find out 
His uncouth way? Milton, P. L, it 406. 
obscure (ob-skur'), v. ; pret. and pp. obscured, 
ppr. obscuring. [< F. obscurer = Sp. Pg. ob- 
scurar = It. oscurare, < L. obscurare, darken, 
obscure, hide, conceal, render indistinct, etc., 
< obscurus, dark, obscure: see obscure, a.} I. 
trans. 1. To cover and shut off from view; 
conceal; hide. 
His fiery cannon did their passage guide, 
And following smoke obscur'd them from the foe. 
Dryden, Annus Mirabilis, st. 92. 
Not a floating cloud obscured the azure firmament. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 183. 
2. To darken or make dark; dim. 
Cynthia for shame obscures her silver shine. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, L 728. 
The Signs obscure not the Streets at all, and make little 
or no figure, as tho' there were none ; being placed very 
high and little. Lister, Journey to Paris, p. 16. 
Think'st thou, vain spirit, thy glories are the same? 
And seest not sin obscures thy god-like frame? 
Dryden, State of Innocence, ill. .:. 
3. To deprive of luster or glory; outshine: 
eclipse; depreciate; disparage; belittle. 
You have suborn 'd this man 
Of purpose to obscure my noble birth. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., V. 4. 22. 
The King of France, tho' valiant enough himself, yet 
thinking his own great Acts to be obscured by greater of 
K. Richard's, he began, besides his old hating him, now 
to envy him. Baker, Chronicles, p. 63. 
Some are born to do great deeds, and live, 
As some are born to be obscured, and die. 
M. Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum. 
4. To render doubtful or unintelligible ; render 
indistinct or difficult of comprehension or ex- 
planation; disguise. 
The prince obscured his contemplation 
Under the veil of wildness. Shak., Hen. V., L 1. 63. 
No written laws can be so plain, so pun 1 , 
But wit may gloss, and malice may obscure. 
Urtiden, Hind and Panther, U. 319. 
Il.t in'rans. To hide; conceal one's self. 
How ! there 's bad tidings ; I must iJwiire and hear it. 
Fltleli,-f mi. I l;,ui-l,-ii. M:ii,l in the Mill, IV. 2. 
ing to funeral rites. 
And the survivor bound 
In filial obligation for some term 
To do obsequious sorrow. Shak., Hamlet, L 2. 92. 
2. Absorbed in grief, as a mourner at a fu- 
neral. 
My sighing breast shall be my funeral bell ; 
And so obsequious will thy father be, 
Even for the loss of thee. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., it 5. 118. 
sequious manner; with eager obedience ; with 
servile compliance; abjectly. 
obsequiously 2 t (ob-se'kwi-us-li), adv. In the 
manner of a mourner; with reverence for the 
dead. 
Whilst I awhile obsequiously lament 
The untimely fall of virtuous Lancaster. 
Shak., Rich. III., L 2. 3. 
The 
cration = Sp. obsecration = Pg. obsecrayao = 
It. ossccnizionc, < L. obsecratio(n-), an entreat- 
ing, beseeching, imploring, < obsecrare, entreat, 
beseech: see obsecrate.} 1. The act of obse- obsequiousness (pb-se'kwi-us-ues), . 
crating; entreaty; supplication. quality or state of being obsequious; ready obe- 
Let us fly to God at all times with humble obsecrations dience ; prompt compliance with the commands 
and hearty requests. Becon, Works, p. 187. (HaUiicell.) of another ; servile submission ; officious or su- 
In the "Rules of civility "(A. i>. 1685, translated from perserviceable readiness to serve. =8yn. CompH- 
the French) we read : " If his lordship chances to sneeze, ance, etc. See obedience. 
you are not to bawl out 'God bless you, sir,' but pulling obseauyH (ob'se-kwi), n. [= Sp. obsequio = It. 
olf your hat, bow to him handsomely, and make that obse- * f , V T n Tf., f ..;,., nrnnnllltni>fl vipldini?- 
cration to yourself." E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, I. 92. ossequio, <. L,. ooseqmum, c< ce, vie 
. , ness, obedience, < obsequi, comply with, yield 
2. In liturgies, one of the suffrages or versicles nr-*_ , 
to: see obsequent. Cf. obsequy^.} Ready com- 
pliance; deferential service; obsequiousness. 
Ours had rather be 
Censured by some for too much obsequy 
Than tax'd of self opinion. 
Massinger, The Bashful Lover, Prol. 
in which the 'orator implores the help of God or O bsequy- (ob'se-kwi), n. ; pi. obsequies (-kwiz). 
of the Litany beginning with the word by (or, 
in Latin, per) ; a petition of the Litany for 
deliverance from evil: as, "By thy baptism, 
fasting, and temptation," the response being 
Good Lord, deliver us." 3. In rhet., a figure 
man. 
obsecratory (ob'se-kra-to-ri), a. [< obsecrate 
+ -ory.~\ Supplicatory ; expressing earnest en- 
treaty. [Rare.] 
That gracious and obsecratory charge of the blessed apos- 
tle of the gentiles (1 Cor. L 10). 
/;/.. Hull, The Peace- Maker, S 26. 
obsequent (ob'se-kwent), n. [= OF. obsequent 
= Sp. obsecuente = Pg. obsequente = It. osse- 
quente, < L. obsequen(t-)s, compliant, indulgent, 
ppr. of obsequi, comply with, yield, indulge, lit. 
follow upon,< ob, before, upon, + sequi, follow: 
see sequent. See obsequy'-.'} Obedient; sub- 
missive; obsequious. [Rare.] 
Pliant and obsequent to his pleasure, even against the pro- 
priety of its own particular nature. 
Fotherby, Atheomastix, p. 181. (Latham.) 
obsequial (ob-se'kwi-al), a. [< LL. obseqttin/i*, 
pertaining to obsequies, < obsequiee, obsequies : 
see obsequy 2 .'] Of or pertaining to obsequies 
or funeral ceremonies. 
Parson Welles, as the last obsequial act, in the name of 
the bereaved family, thanked the people for their kind- 
ness and attention to the dead and the liv ing. 
[Chiefly in pi.;' in ME. obseque, < OF. obseque, 
usually in pi. obseques, = F. obseques = Sp. 
Pg. obsequias, < LL. obsequial, a rare and per- 
haps orig. erroneous form for exsequu?, funeral 
rites (see exequy) ; cf . ML. obsequium, funeral 
rites, a funeral, also a train, retinue, following, 
< L. obsequi, follow upon (not used in this lit. 
sense), comply with: see obsequent. Cf. obse- 
quy 1 .} A funeral rite or ceremony. [Now 
rarely used in the singular.] 
His funeral! obseque to morn we do, 
And for hys good soule to our Lord pray we. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. 9.\ 1. 2332. 
These tears are my sweet Rutland's obsequies. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., L 4. 147. 
With silent obsequy, and funeral train. 
Hilton, 8. A., 1. 1732. 
They vsed many Offices of seruice and loue toward rs the 
dead, and thereupon are called Obsequies in our vulgare. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 39. 
Buried, not as one unknown. 
Nor meanly, but with gorgeous obsequies, 
And mass, and rolling music, like a queen. 
Tennynn, Lancelot and Elaine. 
"a Judd, Margaret, U. i. obseratet (ob'se-rat), r. t. [< L. obseratus, pr. 
obsequience (ob-se'kwi-ens), . [An erroneous of obserare, bolt, bar, fasten or shut up, < 
By his [Titian's] grave courtly obsequirnce. 
D. 0. Mitchell, Bound Together, ii. 
t>bserrabili#, remarkable, observable/ obserrart. 
remark, observe: see obserre.'] I. a. 1. Capa- 
