obviously
/ˈɒbviəsli/AHB-vee-uh-slee
/ˈɑbviəsli/AHB-vee-uh-slee
Meaningin an obvious way
Common meaning: in an obvious way (inferred)
- obtowards, against, in the way
- via road, wayLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1984 · scan
- ousadjective ending: full of, having
- lyadverb ending: in a way
‘towards, against, in the way’ + ‘a road, way’ → obviously
Journey through time
- Latinvia‘a road, way’
- Englishobvious‘easy to see (lying in the way)’
- Englishformed in English from obviousobviously‘in an obvious way (inferred)’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: in an obvious way. It can be inferred from any of: obvious.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from obvious + -ly (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- via Latin “a road, way”
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