Obie

O1B3I1E1

noun

A small lamp positioned over the camera, sometimes used to produce catchlights in the subject's eyes.

OriginFrench Aubé →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

Obie1

nounObie (plural Obies)

plural Obies

  1. broadcastingA small lamp positioned over the camera, sometimes used to produce catchlights in the subject's eyes.

Obie2

nounObie (plural Obies)

plural Obies

  1. An Off-Broadway Theater Award, given annually to theatre artists and groups in New York City.

Obie3

proper noun
  1. A diminutive of the male given name Obadiah.

Obie4

proper nounObie (plural Obies)

plural Obies

  1. A surname from French.

Origin

Obie · noun

Named after the actress Merle Oberon, whose husband Lucien Ballard used this kind of lighting to hide small scars on her face after a car accident.

Full word history & related roots →

Obie · noun

A regularized spelling of the initials of the phrase "Off-Broadway". Thus, "OB Award" becomes "Obie Award".

Full word history & related roots →

Obie · proper noun

  1. FrenchAubé
  2. EnglishObie

Altered spelling of French Aubé.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Obie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Obie

MLA

“Obie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Obie. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Obie,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Obie.

Source: Obie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.