obverse 
scription or device. 2. Inbot., having the base 
narrower than the top, as a leaf Obverse as- 
pect or view, in entom. , the appearance of an insect when 
seen with the head toward the observer. Obverse tool, 
a tool having the smaller end toward the haft or stock. 
E. H. Knight. 
II. n. 1. In numis., the face or principal side 
of a coin or medal, as distinguished from the 
other side, called the reverse. See numismatics, 
and cuts under maravedi, medallion, and merlfi. 
Of the two sides of a coin, that is called the obverse which 
bears the more important device or inscription. In early 
Greek coins it is the convex side ; in Greek and Roman 
imperial it is the side bearing the head ; in mediajval and 
modern that bearing the royal effigy, or the king's name, 
or the name of the city ; and in Oriental that on which the 
inscription begins. The other side is called the reverse. 
Encyc. Brit. XVII. 630. 
Hence 2. A second aspect of the same fact; 
a correlative proposition identically implying 
another. 
The fact that it [a belief] invariably exists being the ob- 
verse of the fact that there is no alternative belief. 
H. Spencer. 
obverse-lunate (ob-vers'lu"nat), a. In bot. , in- 
versely crescent-shaped that is, with the horns 
of the crescent projecting forward instead of 
backward. 
obversely (ob-vers'li), adv. In an obverse form 
or manner. 
obver sion (ob-ver'shon), . [< obvert, after ver- 
sion, etc.] 1. The act of obverting or turning 
toward some person or thing, or toward a posi- 
tion regarded as the front. 2. In logic, same 
as conversion, or the transposition of the sub- 
ject and predicate of a proposition. 
obvert (ob-vert'), v. t. [< L. obvertere, turn or 
direct toward or against, < ob, toward, + ver- 
tere, turn : see verse. Cf . advert, avert, etc.] To 
turn toward some person or thing, or toward a 
position regarded as the front. 
This leaf being held very near the eye, and obverted to 
the light, appeared . . . full of pores. 
Boyle, Works, I. 729. 
obviate (ob'vi-at), v. t. ; pret. and pp. obviated, 
ppr. obviating. [< LL. obviatus, pp. of obviare (> 
It. ovviare = Pr. Sp. Pg. obviar = F. obvier), 
meet, withstand, prevent, < obvius, in the way, 
meeting: see obvious.] If. To meet. 
As on the way I itinerated, 
A rural 1 person I obviated. 
S. Rowlands, Four Knaves, i. 
Our reconciliation with Rome is clogged with the same 
impossibilities ; she may be gone to, but will never be met 
with ; such her pride or peevishness as not to stir a step 
to obviate any of a different religion. 
Fuller, Ch. Hist., XI. v. 74. 
2. To meet half-way, as difficulties or objec- 
tions; hence, to meet and dispose of; clear out 
of the way; remove. 
Secure of mind, I'll obviate her intent 
And unconcern'd return the goods she lent. 
Prior, Henry and Emma. 
Dire disappointment, that admits no cure, 
And which no care can obviate. 
Cowper, Task, Hi. 668. 
All pleasures consist in obviating necessities as they rise. 
Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, xi. 
obviation (ob-vi-a'shon), n. [= It. ovviazione; 
as obviate + -ion.] The act of obviating, or the 
state of being obviated. [Rare.] 
obvious (ob'vi-us), a. [= Sp. Pg. obvio = It. 
ovvio, < L. obvius, being in the way so as to 
meet, meeting, easy of access, at hand, ready, 
obvious, < ob, before, + via, way: see via, and 
cf. devious, invious, previous, etc.] If. Being or 
standing in the way; standing or placed in the 
front. 
If hee flnde there is no enemie to oppose him, he advis- 
eth how farre they shall invade, commanding everie man 
(upon paine of his life)to kill all the obvious Unsticks ; but 
not to hurt any women or children. 
Capt. John Smith, True Travels, I. 38. 
The . . . ayre, . . . returning home in a Gyration, car- 
rieth with it the obvious bodies unto the Electrick. 
Sir T. Browne, Pseud. Epid. (1646), ii. 4. 
Nor obvious hill, 
Nor straitening vale, nor wood, nor stream, divides 
Their perfect ranks. Milton, P. L., vi. 69. 
2f. Open; exposed to danger or accident. 
Why was the sight 
To such a tender ball as the eye confined, 
So obvious and so easy to be quench'd? 
Milton, S. A.,1. 96. 
3t. Coming in the way ; presenting itself as to 
be done. 
I miss thee here, 
Not pleased, thus entertain'd with solitude 
Where obvious duty erewhile appear'd unsought. 
Milton, P. L., x. 106. 
4. Easily discovered, seen, orunderstood; plain; 
manifest; evident; palpable. 
4070 
This is too obvious and common to need explanation. 
Bacon, Moral Fables, vi., Expl. 
What obvious truths the wisest heads may miss. 
Cowper, Retirement, 1. 458. 
Surely the highest offlce of a great poet is to show us 
how much variety, freshness, and opportunity abides in the 
obvious and familiar. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 203. 
5. In zool., plainly distinguishable; quite ap- 
parent: as, an obvious mark; an obvious stria: 
opposed to obscure or obsolete. = gyn. 4. Evident, 
Plain, etc. (see manifest, a.); patent, unmistakable. 
obviously (ob'vi-us-li), adv. In an obvious man- 
ner ; so as to be easily apprehended ; evidently ; 
plainly; manifestly. 
Obviousness (ob'vi-us-nes), . 1. The state or 
condition of being obvious, plain, or evident to 
the eye or the mind. 
I thought their easiness or obviousness fitter to recom- 
mend than depreciate them. Boyle. 
2. The state of being open or liable, as to any- 
thing threatening or harmful. 
Many writers have noticed the exceeding desolation of 
the state of widowhood in the East, and the obviousness of 
the widow, as one having none to help her, to all manner 
of oppressions and wrongs. 
Trench, Notes on the Parables (ed. Appleton), p. 40L 
obvolute (ob'vo-lut), a. [< L. obvolutus, pp. 
. of obvolvere, wrap around, muffle up, < ob, be- 
fore, + volvere, roll, wrap : see volute.] Kolled 
or turned in. Specifically applied by Linmeus to a kind 
of vernation in which two leaves are folded together in the 
bud so that one hah* of each is exterior and the other inte- 
rior, as in the calyx of the poppy. It is merely convolute 
reduced to its simplest expression. Also used as a syno- 
nym for convolute. 
obvoluted (ob'vo-lu-ted), a. [< obvolute + 
-ed 2 .] In bot., having parts that are obvolute. 
obvolvent (ob-vol'vent), a. [< L. obvolven(t-)s, 
ppr. of obvolvere, wrap around: see obvohtte.] 
Inentom., curved downward or inward. Obvol- 
vent elytra, elytra in which the epipleurse curve over 
the sides of the mesothorax and metathorax. Obvolvent 
pronotum, a pronotum which is rounded at the sides, 
forming an unbroken curve with the sternal surface of the 
prothorax. 
obvolving (ob-vol'ving), a. Same as obvolvent. 
oby, n. See obi 1 . 
obytet, n. See obit. 
OC*t, n. A Middle English form of oak. 
OC 2 t, conj. [ME., also occ, usually ac, sometimes 
ah, < AS. ac, but.] But. 
OC-. An assimilated form of ob- before c. 
Oca (6'ka), n. [S. Amer.] One of two plants of 
the genus Oxalis, O. crenata and O. tuberosa, 
found in western South America. They are there 
cultivated for their potato-like tubers, which, however, 
have proved insipid and of small size in European experi- 
ments. The acid leafstalks of 0. crenata are also used in 
Peru. 
ocarina (ok-a-re'na),. [It.] A musical instru- 
ment, hardly more than a toy, consisting of a 
fancifully shaped terra-cotta body with a whis- 
tle-like mouthpiece and a number of finger- 
holes. Several different sizes or varieties are 
made. The tone is soft, but sonorous. 
Occamism (ok'am-izm), n. [< Occam (see def.) 
+ -ism.] The doctrine of the great nominal- 
ist William of Occam (or Ockham) (died about 
1349), now sometimes called doctor invincibilis, 
but in the ages following his own venerabilis 
inceptor, as if he had not actually taken his de- 
gree. He was a great advocate of the rule of poverty of 
the Franciscan order, to which he belonged, and a strong 
defender of the state against the pretensions of the pa- 
pacy. All his teachings depend upon the logical doctrine 
that generality belongs only to the significations of signs 
(such as words). The conceptions of the mind are, ac- 
cording to him, objects in themselves individual, but natu- 
rally significative of classes. These principles are carried 
into every department of logic, metaphysics, and theol- 
ogy, where their general result is that nothing can be dis- 
covered by reason, but all must rest upon faith. Occam- 
ism thus prepared the way for the overthrow of scholasti- 
cism, by arguing that little of importance to man could 
be learned by scholastic methods: yet the Occamistic 
writings exhibit the scholastic faults of triviality, prolix- 
ity, and formality in a higher degree than those of any 
other school. 
occasion 
Occamist (ok'am-ist), n. [< Occam (see def. of 
Occamism) + -ist.] A terminist or follower of 
Occam. 
Occamite (ok'am-it), n. Same as Occamist. 
occamyt (ok'a-mi). n. [Alsoochimy, ochymy, etc.; 
a corruption of alchemy.'] A compound metal 
simulating silver. See alchemy, 3. Wright. 
Pilchards . . . which are but counterfets to the red her- 
ring, as copper to gold, or ockamie to silver. 
Nashe, Lenten Stuff e (Harl. Misc., VI. 166). 
The ten shillings, this thimble, and an occamy spoon 
from some other unknown poor sinner, are all the atone- 
ment which is made for the body of sin in London and 
Westminster. Steele, Guardian, No. 26. 
occasion (o-ka'zhon), n. [< ME. occusyon, < 
OF. occasion, F. occasion = Pr. occasio, ocaizo, 
ochaiso, uchaiso = Sp. ocasion = Pg. occasiao = 
It. occasione, < L. occasio(n-), opportunity, fit 
time, favorable moment, < occidere, pp. occasus, 
fall: see Occident. Cf. encheason, an older form 
of occasion.] If. An occurrence; an event; 
an incident ; a happening. 
This occasion, and the sickness of our minister and peo- 
ple, put us all out of order this day. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, 1. 10. 
St. A special occurrence or happening; a par- 
ticular time or season, especially one marked 
by some particular occurrence or juncture of 
circumstances; instance; time; season. 
I shall upon this occasion go so far back as to speak brief- 
ly of my first going to Sea. Dampier, Voyages, II. ii. 2. 
His [Hastings's style] . . . was sometimes, though not of- 
ten, turgid, and, on one or two occasions, even bombastic. 
Macaulay, Warren Hastings. 
3. An event which affords a person a reason or 
motive for doing something or seeking some- 
thing to be done at a particular time, whether 
he desires it should be done or not; hence, an 
opportunity for bringing about a desired re- 
sult; also, a need; an exigency, (a) Used rela- 
tively. 
You embrace th' occasion to depart. 
Shale., M. of V., i. 1. 
We have perpetual occasion of each others' assistance. 
Swift, 
When a man's circumstances are such that he has no 
occasion to borrow, he finds numbers willing to lend him. 
Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 3. 
The election of Mr. Lincoln, which it was clearly in their 
[the Southern leaders'] power to prevent had they wished, 
was the occasion merely, and not the cause, of their revolt. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 172. 
(6) Used absolutely, though referring to a particular ac- 
tion. 
When occasyon comes, thy profyt take. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. 8-X p. 100. 
I should be dearly glad to be there, sir, 
Did my occasions suit as I could wish. 
Middleton and Rowley, Changeling, i. 1. 
Neither have I 
Slept in your great occasions. 
Massinyer, Renegade, i. 1. 
To meet Roger Pepys, which I did, and did there dis- 
course of the business of lending him 500. to answer some 
occasions of his, which I believe to be safe enough. 
Pepys, Diary, Nov. 20, 1668. 
(c) In negative phrases. 
The winde enlarged vpon vs, that we had not occasion 
to goe into the harborough. Halclnyt's Voyages, I. 275. 
He is free from vice, because he has no occasion to im- 
ploy it, and is aboue those ends that make men wicked. 
Bp. Earle, Micro-cosmographie, A Contemplatiue Man. 
Look 'ee, Sir Lucius, there 's no occasion at all for me to 
tight ; and if it 's the same to you, I'd as lieve let it alone. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, v. 3. 
(d) In the abstract, convenience ; opportunity : not refer- 
ring to a particular act 
He thought good to take Occasion by the fore-lock. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 236. 
(e) Need ; necessity : in the abstract 
Courage mounteth with occasion. 
Shaft., K. John, ii. 1. 82. 
4. An accidental cause, (a) A person or something 
connected with a person who unintentionally brings about 
a given result 
! wae be to thee, Blackwood, 
And an ill death may ye die, 
For ye've been the haill occasion 
Of parting my lord and me. 
Laird of Blackwood (Child's Ballads, IV. 291). 
Her beauty was th' occasion of the war. Dryden. 
(i>) An event, or series of events, which lead to a given re- 
sult, but are not of such a nature as generally to produce 
such results : sometimes used loosely for an efficient cause 
in general, as in the example from Merlin. 
Telle me all the occasion of thy sorowe, and who lith 
here in this sepulture. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 646. 
Have you ever heard what was the occasion and first be- 
ginning of this custom? Spenser, State of Ireland. 
Others were diverted by a sudden (shower] of rain, and 
others by other occasions. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 13. 
5. An incident cause, or cause determining the 
particular time when an event shall occur that 
