English
obviate
Obviate comes from Latin obviō ‘to block, to hinder’, from obvius ‘meeting, in the way’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to chase, pursue’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-‘to chase, pursue’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiā‘road’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvia‘road, street, path’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobvius‘meeting, in the way’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobviō‘to block, to hinder’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobviātusperfect passive participle of obviō
- Englishearliest quotation 1814obviate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-‘to chase, pursue’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wiā‘road’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvia‘road, street, path’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobvius‘meeting, in the way’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobviō‘to block, to hinder’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobviātusperfect passive participle of obviō
- Englishearliest quotation 1814obviate
Earliest quotation: 1814, Jane Austen, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton: “[…] and in the kindest manner she now urged…”
first attested First attested in 1567 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1567; borrowed from Latin obviātus, perfect passive participle of obviō (‘to block, to hinder’), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to chase, pursue’
violent, virtual, inevitable, violation, virtue, vengeance, avenge, violate, vis, virtuous, venison, wer, virtuoso, ochre, vindication, vim, virile, virility, inviolable, violator, virago, 54 more
through Latin via ‘road, street, path’
previous, via, voyage, convey, envoy, trivial, trivia, deviation, deviant, viaduct, trivium, 14 more
through Latin obvius ‘meeting, in the way’
Another origin of obviate
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobviātus
- Englishtodayobviate
Today it means
verb To anticipate and prevent or bypass (something which would otherwise have been necessary or required); to render (something) unnecessary.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- / obviate