See Also: Obedience(medicine)
obedience(dictionary)
obedience(dictionary)
OBEDIENCE(law)

obedience (iou)



obedience noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French obedience from Latin oboedientia, from oboedient-: see OBEDIENT, -ENCE.]
The action or practice of obeying; the fact of being obedient; submission to another's rule or authority; compliance with a law, command, etc. ME.
in obedience to actuated by or in accordance with. passive obedience: see PASSIVE adjective.
A. F. Douglas-Home Obedience to the thoughts of Chairman Mao appeared to be absolute.
The fact or position of being obeyed or in authority over others, now esp. in an ecclesiastical context; authority, command, rule. ME.
T. Fuller To abjure the authority and obedience of the Bishop of Rome. H. Hallam Reducing Spain to the archduke's obedience.
b. A sphere of authority; a district or body of people subject to a rule, esp. an ecclesiastical one. M17.
E. A. Freeman All the English land-owners within William's obedience.
= OBEISANCE 3. Freq. in make obedience, make one's obedience. Now arch. & dial. LME.
Ecclesiastical. A duty or a position of responsibility in a monastery or convent, esp. as assigned to a particular member under a superior; the room or place relating to such a duty or position. E18.
Comb.: obedience class a class for teaching dogs to obey orders; obedience test = obedience trial below; obedience-train verb trans. train (a dog) to obey orders; obedience trial a competition designed to test a dog's obedience.
obediencer noun = OBEDIENTIARY noun LME-E18.
obediency noun (rare) = OBEDIENCE 1 E17.