entry
disobedience
/ˌdɪs.əˈbiː.di.əns/Refusal or failure to obey authority
From Latin dis- (Apart) + Latin obedience (Obedience or submission to authority).
from Vulgar Latin *disobedientia (replacing Latin inobedientia )
+1 more sourcefrom Vulgar Latin *disobedientia (replacing Latin inobedientia )
from Old French desobedience
+1 more sourcefrom Old French desobedience
+1 more sourcefrom Old French desobedience
+1 more sourcefrom Latin dis- (see dis- ) + oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun
+1 more sourcefrom Latin dis- (see dis- ) + oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Vulgar Latin *disobedientia (replacing Latin inobedientia )
+1 more sourcefrom Vulgar Latin *disobedientia (replacing Latin inobedientia )
from Old French desobedience
+1 more sourcefrom Old French desobedience
+1 more sourcefrom Old French desobedience
+1 more sourcefrom Latin dis- (see dis- ) + oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun
+1 more sourcefrom Latin dis- (see dis- ) + oboedientia "obedience," abstract noun
+1 more sourcePicture a medieval authority giving an order—and someone deliberately stepping away from it. That is the basic drama packed into disobedience: Latin dis- supplied the sense of reversal or refusal, while oboedientia named submission to a higher power. The word traveled through Old French desobedience before appearing in Middle English around 1400, displacing older native expressions such as Old English unhīersumnes, literally a kind of “un-hear-someness.” Wait, really? Obedience is related to obeisance, the ceremonial bow that physically stages submission, while disobedience turns that bow into a refusal to bend. Alexander Hamilton was still discussing the “obedience of a free people” in a 1780 letter—reminding us that the word can describe either civic virtue or a child’s forbidden reach toward the candy jar.
The Story
Picture a medieval authority giving an order—and someone deliberately stepping away from it. That is the basic drama packed into disobedience: Latin dis- supplied the sense of reversal or refusal, while oboedientia named submission to a higher power. The word traveled through Old French desobedience before appearing in Middle English around 1400, displacing older native expressions such as Old English unhīersumnes, literally a kind of “un-hear-someness.” Wait, really? Obedience is related to obeisance, the ceremonial bow that physically stages submission, while disobedience turns that bow into a refusal to bend. Alexander Hamilton was still discussing the “obedience of a free people” in a 1780 letter—reminding us that the word can describe either civic virtue or a child’s forbidden reach toward the candy jar.
Modern Usage
Informally, contrary thoughts, words, or actions after an instruction is given
Kin & Kindred
From 'dis-'·Apart, away, reversal, or negation
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'obedience'·Obedience or submission to authority
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia