observe
pronunciation
How to pronounce observe in British English:
UK [əbˈzɜːv]
How to pronounce observe in American English:
US [əbˈzɜːrv]
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- Verb:
- discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
- make mention of
- observe with care or pay close attention to
- watch attentively
- show respect towards
- celebrate, as of holidays or rites
- follow with the eyes or the mind
- observe correctly or closely
- conform one's action or practice to
Word Origin
- 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 servāre ‘keep 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].=> conserve, reserve
- observe (v.)
- late 14c., "to hold to" (a manner of life or course of conduct), from Old French observer, osserver "to observe, watch over, follow" (10c.), from Latin observare "watch over, note, heed, look to, attend to, guard, regard, comply with," from ob "over" (see ob-) + servare "to watch, keep safe," from PIE root *ser- (1) "to protect." Meaning "to attend to in practice, to keep, follow" is attested from late 14c. Sense of "watch, perceive, notice" is 1560s, via notion of "see and note omens." Meaning "to say by way of remark" is from c. 1600. Related: Observed; observing.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Hubble then began to observe more details about galaxies .
- 2. I observe that this seems a fine distinction .
- 3. That 's something you can often observe in mature designs .
- 4. This is in support and implementation of the clean air act that people observe there .
- 5. He will not observe that dog properly , said uncle matt .