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obedience

noun

  1. yielding to instructions from an authority figure
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ə(ʊ)ˈbiːdɪəns/ / /oʊˈbidiəns/ / /əˈbidiəns/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English obedience, from Anglo-Norman obedience, from Old French obedience (modern French obédience), from Latin oboedientia. Displaced native Old English hīersumnes (compare modern English hearsomeness). Cognate with obeisance.

  1. The quality of being obedient.

    Obedience is essential in any army.

    February 24, 1823, Thomas Jefferson, letter to Mr. Edward Everett Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.

  2. The collective body of persons subject to any particular authority.
  3. A written instruction from the superior of an order to those under him.
  4. Any official position under an abbot's jurisdiction.