Obsequious
/əbˈsiːkwiəs/noun
Excessively eager to please or obey someone, often in a way that seems flattering or submissive.
Did you know?Obsequious comes from Latin obsequī, meaning “to comply with” or “follow after,” and the same root family gave English sequels, sequences, and consecutive—words built on the idea of one thing coming after another.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
obsequī
“to comply with, yield to, follow after”
Latin
Latin
obsequiosus
“compliant, obliging”
Middle French
Old French
obsequeux / obsequieux
“obliging, compliant”
14th–15th Century
English
obsequious
“dutiful, compliant; later, excessively deferential”
Modern English
English
obsequious
“excessively eager to please or flatter someone”
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