Etymology

obstinate

ob·sti·nate
O1B3S1T1I1N1A1T1E1

Today it means: Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent. Full definition →

Middle English obstinat(e) ← Latin obstinātus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · derived fromobstinātus
  2. Middle English · inherited fromobstinat(e)“obstinate, stubborn”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromobstinat(e)“obstinate, stubborn”
  4. English todayobstinate

Inherited from Middle English obstinat(e) (“obstinate, stubborn”), from Latin obstinātus, perfect passive participle of obstinō (“set one's mind firmly upon, resolve”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ob (“before”) + *stinare, from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of ostinato.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.