obeisance

/əˈbiː.səns/

//əˈbiː.səns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"obeisance" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“obeisance” is uncommon English (frequency #84,573 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,573
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Demonstration of an obedient attitude, especially by bowing deeply; a deep bow which demonstrates such an attitude.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obeisance · obeisance · English

obeisance · rank #84,573 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,573
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Obrador

Nearest frequency peer: Obrador (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “obeisance”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “obeisance” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for obeisance
PropertyValue
Headwordobeisance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈbiː.səns/
Letters9
Frequency rank#84,573
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “obeisance” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).obeisancefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Obrador” (#84,574), “obstructionism” (#84,575), “Oakridge” (#84,570). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “obeisance” is #84,573. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

obeisance is uncommon English at frequency #84,573 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈbiː.səns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

obeisance has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English obeisaunce (“obedience, obeisance”), from Old French obeïssance, derived from obeïssant (“obedient”), participle of obeïr (“to obey”), from Latin oboediō, obēdiō; ob- (“to, for”) + audiō (“to hear”). Cognate with obedience. The correct English form is obeisance, spelled O-B-E-I-S-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Demonstration of an obedient attitude, especially by bowing deeply; a deep bow which demonstrates such an attitude.
  2. 2
    An obedient attitude.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how obeisance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore; / Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
  2. But looking upwards in the blaze of the moon I suddenly saw colossi sitting near, and towering up and blotting out the stars and filling the night with blackness; and at those idols’ feet I saw praying and making obeisance kings and the days that are and all times and all cities and all nations and all their gods.

Etymology

From Middle English obeisaunce (“obedience, obeisance”), from Old French obeïssance, derived from obeïssant (“obedient”), participle of obeïr (“to obey”), from Latin oboediō, obēdiō; ob- (“to, for”) + audiō (“to hear”). Cognate with obedience.

This word in other languages

pleitesía(Español)Verbeugung(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obeisance"?
"obeisance" is spelled O-B-E-I-S-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbiː.səns/.
What does "obeisance" mean?
As a noun, "obeisance" means: Demonstration of an obedient attitude, especially by bowing deeply; a deep bow which demonstrates such an attitude.
How do you pronounce "obeisance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obeisance" is /əˈbiː.səns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "obeisance"?
From Middle English obeisaunce (“obedience, obeisance”), from Old French obeïssance, derived from obeïssant (“obedient”), participle of obeïr (“to obey”), from Latin oboediō, obēdiō; ob- (“to, for”) + audiō (“to hear”). Cognate with obedience. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "obeisance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

osteopath#84,590Paderborn#84,593Pavlovian#84,601pendulous#84,603

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list