Etymology

oblige

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Today it means: To constrain someone by force or by social, moral or legal means. Full definition →

Middle English obligen ← Old French obligier ← Latin obligō, obligāre
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromobligō, obligāre
  2. Old French · derived fromobligier
  3. Middle English · inherited fromobligen
  4. English todayoblige

From Middle English obligen, from Old French obligier, obliger, from Latin obligō, obligāre, from ob- + ligō. Doublet of obligate, taken straight from Latin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.