Verb

(en verb)

To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of.

To do as one is told.

(obsolete) To be obedient, compliant (to a given law, restriction etc.).

* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.iv:

They were all taught by Triton, to obay / To the long raynes, at her commaundement [...].

Verb

(observ)

(lb) To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.

:

*1892 , (Arthur Conan Doyle),

*:“One horse?” interjected Holmes. ¶ “Yes, only one.” ¶ “Did you observe the colour?”

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, author=Frank Fish, George Lauder

, volume=101, issue=2, page=114, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Not Just Going with the Flow , passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}

(lb) To follow or obey the custom, practice, or rules (especially of a religion).

:

*Bible, (w)

*:Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread.

*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph

, title= England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report , passage=A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward. }}

(lb) To comment on something; to make an observation.

:

*

*:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ ("I never) understood it," she observed , lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."