Library / English Dictionary

OBEISANCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person

Synonyms:

obedience; obeisance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("obeisance" is a kind of...):

compliance; submission (the act of submitting; usually surrendering power to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obeisance"):

truckling (the act of obeying meanly (especially obeying in a humble manner or for unworthy reasons))

Derivation:

obey (be obedient to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

Synonyms:

bow; bowing; obeisance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("obeisance" is a kind of...):

reverence (an act showing respect (especially a bow or curtsy))

gesture; motion (the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obeisance"):

genuflection; genuflexion (the act of bending the knees in worship or reverence)

kotow; kowtow (a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission)

scrape; scraping (a deep bow with the foot drawn backwards (indicating excessive humility))

salaam (a deep bow; a Muslim form of salutation)

Credits