ob-

See also: ob, ob., Ob, OB, ÖB, and Ob.

English

Etymology 1

From Latin ob.

Prefix

ob-

1. (non-productive) Against; facing; a combining prefix found in verbs of Latin origin.
2. (botany) Of a reversed shape.

Etymology 2

Clipping of obligatory.

Prefix

ob-

1. (Internet, informal) Obligatory; prepended to the name of a topic being mentioned to avoid accusations of being off-topic.
   • 1998, "Haydn Black", lesbian goths (discussion on Internet newsgroup alt.gothic)

     ObGoth: Uh, well, it's like this you see, <searches in random file o' obgoth things> anyone out there got the new CoX album on Tess? If so which album is it *most* like?

   • 1998, "Peter Thomas", FAQ: more info request (discussion on Internet newsgroup comp.sys.sinclair)

     Aren't Newcastle's chairman Sunderland supporters? (From the way they acted?) Erm...obspeccy? Tynesoft, eh? What happened to them?

   • 2000, "Dan Glover", Introduction to Linux article for commentary (discussion on Internet newsgroup alt.linux)

     ObLinux: SAP were giving away a free development environment for use with RedHat v6.1 recently, a distinctly non-free complete system has been available for a while. This offers another example of a commercial application where the vendors now have sufficient confidence in Linux to release a port (even if it is distribution-specific).

Derived terms

English words prefixed with ob-

Anagrams

• BO, Bo, bo

---

Czech

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ob, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ebʰi. See o.

Prefix

ob-

1. A prefix with various functions, e.g. expressing:

   omission (obden = ob + den (day) = every other day)

   surrounding (objet = ob + jet (drive) = to drive around)

Derived terms

Czech words prefixed with ob-

• objet
• objevit
• obsílka
• obvinit
• obšťastnit

 

See also

• obe-

Further reading

• o-/ob(e)- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

---

German

Etymology 1

From ob (“over, above”).

Prefix

ob-

1. over-, super-

Etymology 2

From Latin ob-.

Prefix

ob-

1. ob-

Derived terms

German words prefixed with ob-

---

Latin

Alternative forms

• obs-
• os-

Etymology

Prefixation of preposition ob (“towards; against”).

Prefix

ob-

1. towards; against

Usage notes

In compounds, the b is often assimilated into the next consonant.

Derived terms

Latin words prefixed with ob-

---

Polish

Alternative forms

• obe-

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *o(b), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ebʰi.

Prefix

ob-

1. prefix added to verbs to mean surrounding, around

   ‎ob- + ‎jechać → ‎objechać

   Synonym: o-

2. prefix added to verbs meaning engirely

   ‎ob- + ‎jeść (“to eat”) → ‎objeść się (“to eat and be overstuffed”)

Because the prefix ends with the consonant sometimes the first letter of the verb was dropped.

1. ‎ob- + ‎źrzeć → ‎obejrzeć

   ‎ob- + ‎walić → ‎obalić

The prefix o- is a variant of ob- and occurs much more frequently.

See also

• o

Derived terms

Polish words prefixed with ob-

---

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• o- (usually before plosives, sometimes also other consonants)
• op- (before unvoiced consonants)
• oba- (in a few words)

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ob, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ebʰi. See o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ob/

Prefix

ob- (Cyrillic spelling об-)

1. around, enclosing, surrounding

   jahati → objahati

   grliti → obgrliti

   kružiti → okružiti

2. around, throughout, wholly

   javiti → objaviti

   uzeti → obuzeti

   lizati → oblizati

3. on the surface or top of something

   grepsti → ogrepsti

4. forms perfective verbs from imperfectives

   hrabriti → ohrabriti

5. quite, -ish

   malen → omalen

Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian words prefixed with ob-