observe

observe
\ \ [14] Latin observāre meant ‘watch, pay attention to, look to, comply with’. It was a compound verb, formed with the prefix ob- ‘to’ from servārekeep safe’, hence ‘guard, watch, heed’ (no relation to servīre, source of English serve and servant). The two semantic strands ‘seeing, noting’ and ‘complying’ have remained together in the English verb, but have diverged in its derived nouns, the former going to observation [14], the latter to observance [13].
\ \ Cf.CONSERVE, RESERVE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Observe — Ob*serve ([o^]b*z[ e]rv ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Observed} ([o^]b*z[ e]rvd ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Observing}.] [L. observare, observatum; ob (see {Ob }) + servare to save, preserve, keep, heed, observe: cf. F. observer. See {Serve}.] 1. To take… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • observe — [v1] see, notice beam, behold, catch, contemplate, detect, dig, discern, discover, distinguish, eagle eye*, espy, examine, eyeball*, flash*, get a load of*, get an eyeful of*, inspect, keep one’s eye on*, lamp*, look at, make out*, mark, mind,… …   New thesaurus

  • observe — I (obey) verb abide by, acquiesce, adhere to, attend, be faithful to, be guided by, be regulated by, be submissive to, bow to, carry out, cling to, comply with, conform, conservare, cooperate, discharge, do the will of, execute, follow, fulfill,… …   Law dictionary

  • Observe — Ob*serve , v. i. 1. To take notice; to give attention to what one sees or hears; to attend. [1913 Webster] 2. To make a remark; to comment; to make an observation[3]; generally with on or upon. [1913 Webster +PJC] I have barely quoted . . .… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • observé — observé, ée (ob sèr vé, vée) part. passé d observer. 1°   À quoi on s est conformé. •   Dans tous pays il n y a jamais de lois observées que celles qui tiennent à la nature du gouvernement, J. J. ROUSS. Lett. à M. de Malesherbes, corresp. t. V, p …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • observe — (v.) late 14c., to hold to (a manner of life or course of conduct), from O.Fr. observer, from L. observare watch over, look to, attend to, guard, from ob over (see OB (Cf. ob )) + servare to watch, keep safe, from PIE root *ser to protect.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • observe — 1 *keep, celebrate, solemnize, commemorate Analogous words: respect, esteem, regard (see under REGARD n): *revere, reverence, venerate Antonyms: violate Contrasted words: *neglect, ignore, overlook, disregard, slight 2 survey, view, contemplate,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • observé — Observé, [observ]ée. part …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • observe — ► VERB 1) notice; perceive. 2) watch attentively; monitor. 3) make a remark; say. 4) fulfil or comply with. DERIVATIVES observable adjective observer noun. ORIGIN Latin obs …   English terms dictionary

  • observe — [əb zʉrv′] vt. observed, observing [ME observen < OFr observer < L observare, to watch, note < ob (see OB ) + servare, to keep or hold < IE base * ser , to watch over, guard > Sans haraiti, (he) guards] 1. to adhere to, follow,… …   English World dictionary

  • observe — verb 1 notice/watch ADVERB ▪ carefully, closely ▪ precisely ▪ directly ▪ It is not possible to observe this phenomenon directly. ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

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