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obscure
[ uhb-skyoor ]
/ ÉbËskyÊÉr /
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adjective, ob·scur·er, ob·scur·est.
verb (used with object), ob·scured, ob·scur·ing.
noun
OTHER WORDS FOR obscure
4 blurred, veiled.
OPPOSITES FOR obscure
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Origin of obscure
First recorded in 1350â1400; Middle English, from Old French oscur, obscur, from Latin obscĆ«rus âdarkâ
synonym study for obscure
historical usage of obscure
The adjective obscure first appears in English about 1425 (if not earlier); the verb appears around the same time. The adjective obscure comes from Anglo-French and Middle French oscur, obscur âwithout light, dark (in color), hard to understand,â from Latin obscĆ«rus âdim, dark, dingy, faint,â an adjective made up of the prefix ob- âtoward, againstâ and the adjective scĆ«rus, which does not occur in Latin.
The verb obscure may simply derive from the English adjective by functional shift (a change in the grammatical function of a word). Alternatively, the verb may derive from Middle French obscurer âto make or become darkâ or from Latin obscĆ«rÄre âto cover, obscure, overshadow, conceal,â a verb derived from obscĆ«rus.
The unrecorded Latin adjective scĆ«rus comes from the Proto-Indo-European root (s)keu-, (s)kĆ«- (with variants) âto cover, envelopâ ( scĆ«rus therefore means âcovered overâ). In Germanic the variant skeu- forms the base of the noun skeujam âcloud cover, cloud,â becoming skyÌ âcloudâ in Old Norse, which is the immediate source of English sky (a 13th-century borrowing). The variant skĆ«- forms the noun skĆ«maz âscumâ (because it covers the water), which becomes scum in English.
The verb obscure may simply derive from the English adjective by functional shift (a change in the grammatical function of a word). Alternatively, the verb may derive from Middle French obscurer âto make or become darkâ or from Latin obscĆ«rÄre âto cover, obscure, overshadow, conceal,â a verb derived from obscĆ«rus.
The unrecorded Latin adjective scĆ«rus comes from the Proto-Indo-European root (s)keu-, (s)kĆ«- (with variants) âto cover, envelopâ ( scĆ«rus therefore means âcovered overâ). In Germanic the variant skeu- forms the base of the noun skeujam âcloud cover, cloud,â becoming skyÌ âcloudâ in Old Norse, which is the immediate source of English sky (a 13th-century borrowing). The variant skĆ«- forms the noun skĆ«maz âscumâ (because it covers the water), which becomes scum in English.
OTHER WORDS FROM obscure
Words nearby obscure
obscene, obscenity, obscurant, obscurantism, obscuration, obscure, obscurity, obscurum per obscurius, obsecrate, obsequence, obsequent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use obscure in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for obscure
Derived forms of obscure
obscuration (ËÉbskjÊËreÉȘÊÉn), nounobscurely, adverbobscureness, nounWord Origin for obscure
C14: via Old French from Latin obscƫrus dark
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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