obscurityn.

Brit.

/əbˈskjʊərᵻti/,

/əbˈskjɔːrᵻti/, U.S.

/əbˈskjʊrədi/,

/ɑbˈskjʊrədi/

Forms: late Middle English obscurete, late Middle English obscuretee, late Middle English–1500s obscurite, late Middle English–1500s obscuritee, late Middle English–1500s obscurte, late Middle English–1500s obscuryte, 1500s obscurytee, 1500s–1600s obscuritie, 1500s– obscurity, 1600s obscuritye; Scottish pre-1700 obscurite, pre-1700 obscuritee, pre-1700 obscuritie, pre-1700 1700s– obscurity.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French obscurité; Latin obscūritāt-, obscūritās.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French obscurité, obscureté, obscurté absence of light (1119 in Old French as obscurtez ; also attested in Anglo-Norman and Middle French as oscureté , oscuritie , oscurté ; French obscurité ), lack of clarity (c1265), unintelligibility (1305), condition of being unknown (1640), and its etymon classical Latin obscūritāt-, obscūritās darkness, dimness, lack of clarity, unintelligibility, the condition of being unknown or unnoticed < obscūrus obscure adj. + -tās (see -ty suffix¹; compare -ity suffix).

I. Senses relating to lack of clarity or understanding.

a. The quality or condition of not being clearly known or understood. Also in figurative contexts (cf. 4). Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [noun]

deepnessa1000

subtletya1387

difficultyc1405

mistiheadc1425

darknessc1450

obscurity1474

profoundnessc1475

obscureness1509

profundity1559

perplexity1563

opacity1575

darksomeness1583

perplexednessa1586

deptha1593

spinosity1605

abstruseness1628

abstrusity1649

inevidence1673

enigmaticalness1684

dark1699

indistinctness1704

confusion1729

reconditeness1779

obfuscity1832

oracularity1840

irrecognizability1847

recondity1856

unrecognizableness1865

crypticity1892

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [noun] > unclear condition

obscurity1474

mist1532

cloud-lighta1536

indeterminateness1644

undistinction1647

indeterminacy1649

indistinction1651

undeterminateness1653

inestimability1678

undefinableness?1705

confusion1729

obnubilation1753

cloudiness1779

indistinctness1783

haze1790

haziness1796

vagueness1799

nebulosity1809

undefinednessa1832

undecidedness1897

indeterminism1928

fuzziness1973

smog1976

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. v. 127 The..thought is enuoluped in obscurete & vnder the clowdes.

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 62 In Philosophie, where at the first there seemeth..to be some strangenesse, obscuritie, and I wot not what barrennesse.

1674 in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 232 I must confess I have ever bin uneasy to finde things in so much obscurity.

1724 R. Welton Substance Christian Faith 185 His judgments are as the great deep for their obscurity and unmeasurableness.

1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 503 To remove any part of the obscurity which prevails with regard to the nature and progress of mortification.

1876 H. N. Humphreys Coin Coll. Man. ii. 7 The precise date of the origin of coined money is lost in obscurity.

1901 H. Oertel Lect. Study Lang. iv. 234 Obscurity prevails with regard to the causes of dissimilatory substitution of similar sounds, such as l for r, or n for l.

†b. figurative. Lack of spiritual understanding or enlightenment. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 153 Ffor god reprouis all dedis done jn myrknes and obscuritee.

a1500 Hymnal in R. S. Loomis Medieval Stud. in Memory G. S. Loomis (1927) 481 (MED) Darknes of synne and all obscurite, Yeve place to lyght..Illumyne vs, lord, with lyght of grace dyvyne.

a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 40 The licht of the haly spreit..puttis away all obscurite and myrknes out of oure consciens.

?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman ii. iii. sig. X.ij^v And thus dyd pagans, which liued in the obscurite and darkenes of ignorance.

c. As a count noun: something not known or understood. Usually in plural.In quot. 1799: an unknown place.

ΚΠ

1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. iv. iv. 143/2 How palpably they are carried away by traditious obscurities.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 75 Multiplying obscurities in nature, and authorising hidden qualities that are false.

a1660 H. Hammond Wks. (1684) II. iii. 6 (R.) For the dilucidating of obscurities in ancient story.

1739 H. Baker & J. Miller Amorous Quarrel iv. i, in Wks. I. 284 Lucilia and Valere, surpris'd at the Novelty of such a Mystery, will one Day search into these Obscurities, by which means all my Projects will prove abortive.

1799 C. B. Brown Edgar Huntly II. xii. 52 There still existed another of these animals, who might harbour in the obscurities of this desert.

1816 W. Combe Eng. Dance of Death II. 271 Did not their ever anxious eyes Pierce into all obscurities.

1889 G. Gissing Nether World ii. vi. 102 The situation was full of obscurities and dangers.

1916 N.E.D. at Twist sb.¹ Related to twist v., and presenting similar obscurities of history.

a. An obscure point; a wholly or partially unintelligible expression, piece of writing, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [noun] > instance of

subtletya1387

obscurity1495

difficulty?1504

ambage1520

profundities1582

abstrusity1632

concavity1650

mysterious1836

oracularity1840

Pickwickianism1860

in-reference1967

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [noun] > confusion > confused or obscure piece of writing or discourse

obscurity1495

synchysis1577

skimble-skamble1619

fuzz1674

nebulaa1734

skew1890

1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) i. 3 Desyrous to vnderstonde the obscuretees or derknesse of holy scriptures.

1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) Argt. sig. Aj Leuynge the egressyons poetyques and fabulous obscurytees.

a1564 Q. Kennedy Compend. Ressonyng in 2 Eucharistic Tracts (1964) 151 To tak ordour towart the trew vndirstanding of the obscuriteis and misteriis of Goddis worde.

1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 95 Mis-interpreting the ambiguitie, intangling more the obscurities..in the most renowned authors.

a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 525 His obscurities..generally arise from the remoteness of the Customs, Persons, and Things he alludes to.

1729 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. (ed. 2) Pref. But even obscurities arising from other causes than the abstruseness of the argument may not be always inexcusable.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 43 The obscurities of early Greek poets arose necessarily out of the state of language.

1936 D. Thomas Let. c20 Apr. (1987) 223 Now I'm almost afraid of all the once-necessary artifices and obscurities, and can't..get any real liberation, any diffusion or dilution or anything, into the churning bulk of the words.

1988 M. Gardiner Scatter of Memories 146 I would write to him, complaining of obscurities in his poems and plays, which were now being published.

b. Lack of clarity in expression; uncertainty of meaning; unintelligibility.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > [noun]

obscuritya1522

incomprehensibility1598

entangledness1611

unconceivableness1611

unsearchableness1611

indiscernibleness1649

inscrutability1654

undiscoverableness1656

unscrutableness1657

unimaginableness1659

inconceivableness1661

unintelligibility1661

imperscrutableness1664

unknowableness1664

unintelligibleness1678

unfathomableness1690

inscrutableness1727

incognoscibility1824

uncognoscibility1827

unconjecturability1827

impenetrability1847

inconceivability1847

intangibility1847

untraceableness1856

incognizabilityc1860

incomprehensibleness1862

unknowability1863

unthinkability1865

elusiveness1873

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [noun]

difficultyc1405

mistiheadc1425

darknessc1450

obscureness1509

obscuritya1522

unclearness1574

unplainness1619

abstruseness1628

umbragec1642

abstrusity1649

imperspicuity1659

reconditeness1779

mistiness1816

crampness1840

recondity1856

a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. ii. 44 In Subtel wordis of obscurite Involupand the trewth.

a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 96 Al obscuryte & darkenes both in wrytyng & in al communycatyon spryngyth therof.

1575 G. Gascoigne Certayne Notes Instr. in Posies sig. U.ii^v Eschue prolixitie and knit vp your sentences.., since breuitie (so that it be not drowned in obscuritie) is most commendable.

1602 T. Campion Obseruations Art Eng. Poesie sig. A5 There is no writing too breefe, that without obscuritie comprehends the intent of the writer.

1691 D. North Disc. Trade Pref. sig. A3 An abundance of Words is more pardonable than obscurity, or want of Sence.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 169. ⁋13 One of the most pernicious effects of haste is obscurity.

1783 H. Blair Lect. Rhetoric I. x. 186 The obscurity which reigns so much among many metaphysical writers is, for the most part, owing to the indistinctness of their own conceptions.

1821 R. Southey Exped. Orsua 89 (note) There is some obscurity here in Pedro Simon's narrative, as if he were taking Aguirre by some cross navigation.

1869 A. C. Swinburne in S. T. Coleridge Christabel p. xxi Real and offensive obscurity comes merely of inadequate thought embodied in inadequate language.

1988 M. Seymour Ring of Conspirators iv. 117 Confronted with the veiled obscurity of Henry's later work..he was puzzled and annoyed.

2000 New Republic 7 Feb. 36/2 What is disreputable is the way these meditations become hijacked by oracular obscurity.

a. The quality or condition of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > obscurity or ingloriousness > [noun]

obscurity1578

eclipse1598

ingloriousnessa1631

deliquium1648

shade1650

incelebrity1813

notelessness1830

obscureness1873

Palookaville?1954

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > unnoted

obscureness1873

obscurity1959

1578 J. Banister Hist. Man sig. Giiii Neither the hollownes of the one, nor the head of the other are (for their obscuritie) to be so termed playnly.

1599 M. Drayton Idea in Englands Heroicall Epist. (new ed.) sig. P5 Thy gifts thou in obscurity doost wast.

?a1653 W. Basse in Poet. Wks. (1893) 151 My slender Poems might In dark obscuritye have slept unknowne.

1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age ii. ii. i. 231 A certain Fellow of the very dregs of the People, who had dyed in the obscurity of his birth, had not this furious revolt..elevated him.

1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 173 The sigh for suffering worth, Lost in obscurity.

1747 T. Gilbert Poems Several Occasions 154 Nor shall the wretch's dark obscurity Preserve him from the brand of infamy.

1823 C. Lamb South-sea House in Elia 8 This was the thought—..ye mild and happy pair—which cheered you in the night of intellect, and in the obscurity of your station.

1873 P. G. Hamerton Intellect. Life (1875) x. iii. 349 The greater number have to remain in positions of obscurity.

1921 J. Galsworthy To Let 171 And now this anonymous ruffian, with nothing to gain, apparently, save the venting of his spite against foreigners, had wrenched it out of the obscurity in which he had hoped and wished it would remain.

1959 G. L. Harding Antiq. Jordan iv. 81 Jarash began to emerge from the obscurity of a small village to the importance of a Hellenistic town.

2002 NFT Programme Booklet (National Film Theatre) Mar. 29/1 She avoided the total obscurity suffered by many Rank starlets.

b. An obscure or unknown person. Now (also): something (esp. a musical recording, etc.) that has fallen into obscurity.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of no note or ordinary

nothinga1616

nondescript1776

obscurity1822

unnotable1860

1822 Athenæum 14 Jan. 51/2 Herr Zart goes through the whole number of obscurities from Leibnitz to Kant.

1890 B. L. Gildersleeve Ess. & Stud. 306 I left them all and married this poor, young obscurity.

1995 Mojo Jan. 106/4 The Golden Age Of Rock'n'Roll, Volume 4 (Ace) Hep-cat obscurities from 1954–1963.

2000 Country Music People May 12/3 I bought it for obscurities like Blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four, dating from 1929.

II. Senses relating to absence of light or conspicuousness.

4. Absence of light (total or partial); darkness; dimness, indistinctness. Formerly (also): a dark place or spot; (Astronomy) a sunspot.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > [noun]

thesternessc888

thesterc897

murkOE

theosterleykc1000

darkc1300

darkheadc1300

murknessa1325

therknessa1325

darknessc1350

tenebres1413

tenebrousa1450

obscurity1481

tenebrosity1490

obscureness1509

dern?a1513

sable?a1513

darksomeness1571

fuliginousness1576

darkishness1583

murksomeness1625

obscure1667

soot1789

tenebrity1789

nightness1839

raylessness1843

lightlessness1845

darkling1882

unlight1883

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xxv. 118 This thynge is the clowde, But it hath not so moche obscurete that it taketh fro vs the clernes of the day.

a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 1814 (MED) The Amatyste folowith the Rubie in dignyte, In las clernys, & in more obscuryte.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 22 None obscurte [Fr. obscurté] or darknes was seen about it.

1599 T. M. Micro-cynicon iii. sig. B6 Into Cymerian black obscuritie.

1611 Bible (King James) Isa. lix. 9 We waite for light, but behold obscuritie .

1640 W. Crabtrie in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 27 280 I must acknowledge you say more for the stellifying of these Solar Obscurities, than I have heard before.

1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus iv. i. f. 445^v The Maculæ or Spots are certain Cloudy Obscurities, appearing upon the Disque of the Sun.

1705 J. Dennis Gibraltar iv. i. 46 Help'd by the Obscurity of the Night, and a lusty dose of Brandy,..I will turn Diego's Stratagem to your Advantage, and to his own Confusion.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 21 The obscurity of the dawn confined his views.

1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xlvii. 444 A strange, palpable obscurity..gradually wrapped itself over every thing.

1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) II. xx. 377 Caulaincourt..galloped in the deep obscurity by another route to Paris.

1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl ix. 206 Alvina had set back in the cab and watched from her obscurity the many faces on the street.

1988 R. Rendell Veiled One (1989) ii. 18 The lane was narrow and very dark and Clifford Sanders drove even more slowly than the winding obscurity warranted.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	obscurity
释义	obscurityn. Brit. /əbˈskjʊərᵻti/, /əbˈskjɔːrᵻti/, U.S. /əbˈskjʊrədi/, /ɑbˈskjʊrədi/ Forms: late Middle English obscurete, late Middle English obscuretee, late Middle English–1500s obscurite, late Middle English–1500s obscuritee, late Middle English–1500s obscurte, late Middle English–1500s obscuryte, 1500s obscurytee, 1500s–1600s obscuritie, 1500s– obscurity, 1600s obscuritye; Scottish pre-1700 obscurite, pre-1700 obscuritee, pre-1700 obscuritie, pre-1700 1700s– obscurity. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French obscurité; Latin obscūritāt-, obscūritās. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French obscurité, obscureté, obscurté absence of light (1119 in Old French as obscurtez ; also attested in Anglo-Norman and Middle French as oscureté , oscuritie , oscurté ; French obscurité ), lack of clarity (c1265), unintelligibility (1305), condition of being unknown (1640), and its etymon classical Latin obscūritāt-, obscūritās darkness, dimness, lack of clarity, unintelligibility, the condition of being unknown or unnoticed < obscūrus obscure adj. + -tās (see -ty suffix¹; compare -ity suffix). I. Senses relating to lack of clarity or understanding. 1. a. The quality or condition of not being clearly known or understood. Also in figurative contexts (cf. 4). Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [noun] deepnessa1000 subtletya1387 difficultyc1405 mistiheadc1425 darknessc1450 obscurity1474 profoundnessc1475 obscureness1509 profundity1559 perplexity1563 opacity1575 darksomeness1583 perplexednessa1586 deptha1593 spinosity1605 abstruseness1628 abstrusity1649 inevidence1673 enigmaticalness1684 dark1699 indistinctness1704 confusion1729 reconditeness1779 obfuscity1832 oracularity1840 irrecognizability1847 recondity1856 unrecognizableness1865 crypticity1892 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [noun] > unclear condition obscurity1474 mist1532 cloud-lighta1536 indeterminateness1644 undistinction1647 indeterminacy1649 indistinction1651 undeterminateness1653 inestimability1678 undefinableness?1705 confusion1729 obnubilation1753 cloudiness1779 indistinctness1783 haze1790 haziness1796 vagueness1799 nebulosity1809 undefinednessa1832 undecidedness1897 indeterminism1928 fuzziness1973 smog1976 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. v. 127 The..thought is enuoluped in obscurete & vnder the clowdes. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 62 In Philosophie, where at the first there seemeth..to be some strangenesse, obscuritie, and I wot not what barrennesse. 1674 in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 232 I must confess I have ever bin uneasy to finde things in so much obscurity. 1724 R. Welton Substance Christian Faith 185 His judgments are as the great deep for their obscurity and unmeasurableness. 1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 503 To remove any part of the obscurity which prevails with regard to the nature and progress of mortification. 1876 H. N. Humphreys Coin Coll. Man. ii. 7 The precise date of the origin of coined money is lost in obscurity. 1901 H. Oertel Lect. Study Lang. iv. 234 Obscurity prevails with regard to the causes of dissimilatory substitution of similar sounds, such as l for r, or n for l. †b. figurative. Lack of spiritual understanding or enlightenment. Obsolete. ΚΠ c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 153 Ffor god reprouis all dedis done jn myrknes and obscuritee. a1500 Hymnal in R. S. Loomis Medieval Stud. in Memory G. S. Loomis (1927) 481 (MED) Darknes of synne and all obscurite, Yeve place to lyght..Illumyne vs, lord, with lyght of grace dyvyne. a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 40 The licht of the haly spreit..puttis away all obscurite and myrknes out of oure consciens. ?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman ii. iii. sig. X.ij^v And thus dyd pagans, which liued in the obscurite and darkenes of ignorance. c. As a count noun: something not known or understood. Usually in plural.In quot. 1799: an unknown place. ΚΠ 1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. iv. iv. 143/2 How palpably they are carried away by traditious obscurities. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 75 Multiplying obscurities in nature, and authorising hidden qualities that are false. View more context for this quotation a1660 H. Hammond Wks. (1684) II. iii. 6 (R.) For the dilucidating of obscurities in ancient story. 1739 H. Baker & J. Miller Amorous Quarrel iv. i, in Wks. I. 284 Lucilia and Valere, surpris'd at the Novelty of such a Mystery, will one Day search into these Obscurities, by which means all my Projects will prove abortive. 1799 C. B. Brown Edgar Huntly II. xii. 52 There still existed another of these animals, who might harbour in the obscurities of this desert. 1816 W. Combe Eng. Dance of Death II. 271 Did not their ever anxious eyes Pierce into all obscurities. 1889 G. Gissing Nether World ii. vi. 102 The situation was full of obscurities and dangers. 1916 N.E.D. at Twist sb.¹ Related to twist v., and presenting similar obscurities of history. 2. a. An obscure point; a wholly or partially unintelligible expression, piece of writing, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [noun] > instance of subtletya1387 obscurity1495 difficulty?1504 ambage1520 profundities1582 abstrusity1632 concavity1650 mysterious1836 oracularity1840 Pickwickianism1860 in-reference1967 society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [noun] > confusion > confused or obscure piece of writing or discourse obscurity1495 synchysis1577 skimble-skamble1619 fuzz1674 nebulaa1734 skew1890 1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) i. 3 Desyrous to vnderstonde the obscuretees or derknesse of holy scriptures. 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) Argt. sig. Aj Leuynge the egressyons poetyques and fabulous obscurytees. a1564 Q. Kennedy Compend. Ressonyng in 2 Eucharistic Tracts (1964) 151 To tak ordour towart the trew vndirstanding of the obscuriteis and misteriis of Goddis worde. 1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 95 Mis-interpreting the ambiguitie, intangling more the obscurities..in the most renowned authors. a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 525 His obscurities..generally arise from the remoteness of the Customs, Persons, and Things he alludes to. 1729 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. (ed. 2) Pref. But even obscurities arising from other causes than the abstruseness of the argument may not be always inexcusable. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 43 The obscurities of early Greek poets arose necessarily out of the state of language. 1936 D. Thomas Let. c20 Apr. (1987) 223 Now I'm almost afraid of all the once-necessary artifices and obscurities, and can't..get any real liberation, any diffusion or dilution or anything, into the churning bulk of the words. 1988 M. Gardiner Scatter of Memories 146 I would write to him, complaining of obscurities in his poems and plays, which were now being published. b. Lack of clarity in expression; uncertainty of meaning; unintelligibility. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > [noun] obscuritya1522 incomprehensibility1598 entangledness1611 unconceivableness1611 unsearchableness1611 indiscernibleness1649 inscrutability1654 undiscoverableness1656 unscrutableness1657 unimaginableness1659 inconceivableness1661 unintelligibility1661 imperscrutableness1664 unknowableness1664 unintelligibleness1678 unfathomableness1690 inscrutableness1727 incognoscibility1824 uncognoscibility1827 unconjecturability1827 impenetrability1847 inconceivability1847 intangibility1847 untraceableness1856 incognizabilityc1860 incomprehensibleness1862 unknowability1863 unthinkability1865 elusiveness1873 society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [noun] difficultyc1405 mistiheadc1425 darknessc1450 obscureness1509 obscuritya1522 unclearness1574 unplainness1619 abstruseness1628 umbragec1642 abstrusity1649 imperspicuity1659 reconditeness1779 mistiness1816 crampness1840 recondity1856 a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. ii. 44 In Subtel wordis of obscurite Involupand the trewth. a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 96 Al obscuryte & darkenes both in wrytyng & in al communycatyon spryngyth therof. 1575 G. Gascoigne Certayne Notes Instr. in Posies sig. U.ii^v Eschue prolixitie and knit vp your sentences.., since breuitie (so that it be not drowned in obscuritie) is most commendable. 1602 T. Campion Obseruations Art Eng. Poesie sig. A5 There is no writing too breefe, that without obscuritie comprehends the intent of the writer. 1691 D. North Disc. Trade Pref. sig. A3 An abundance of Words is more pardonable than obscurity, or want of Sence. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 169. ⁋13 One of the most pernicious effects of haste is obscurity. 1783 H. Blair Lect. Rhetoric I. x. 186 The obscurity which reigns so much among many metaphysical writers is, for the most part, owing to the indistinctness of their own conceptions. 1821 R. Southey Exped. Orsua 89 (note) There is some obscurity here in Pedro Simon's narrative, as if he were taking Aguirre by some cross navigation. 1869 A. C. Swinburne in S. T. Coleridge Christabel p. xxi Real and offensive obscurity comes merely of inadequate thought embodied in inadequate language. 1988 M. Seymour Ring of Conspirators iv. 117 Confronted with the veiled obscurity of Henry's later work..he was puzzled and annoyed. 2000 New Republic 7 Feb. 36/2 What is disreputable is the way these meditations become hijacked by oracular obscurity. 3. a. The quality or condition of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > obscurity or ingloriousness > [noun] obscurity1578 eclipse1598 ingloriousnessa1631 deliquium1648 shade1650 incelebrity1813 notelessness1830 obscureness1873 Palookaville?1954 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > unnoted obscureness1873 obscurity1959 1578 J. Banister Hist. Man sig. Giiii Neither the hollownes of the one, nor the head of the other are (for their obscuritie) to be so termed playnly. 1599 M. Drayton Idea in Englands Heroicall Epist. (new ed.) sig. P5 Thy gifts thou in obscurity doost wast. ?a1653 W. Basse in Poet. Wks. (1893) 151 My slender Poems might In dark obscuritye have slept unknowne. 1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age ii. ii. i. 231 A certain Fellow of the very dregs of the People, who had dyed in the obscurity of his birth, had not this furious revolt..elevated him. 1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 173 The sigh for suffering worth, Lost in obscurity. 1747 T. Gilbert Poems Several Occasions 154 Nor shall the wretch's dark obscurity Preserve him from the brand of infamy. 1823 C. Lamb South-sea House in Elia 8 This was the thought—..ye mild and happy pair—which cheered you in the night of intellect, and in the obscurity of your station. 1873 P. G. Hamerton Intellect. Life (1875) x. iii. 349 The greater number have to remain in positions of obscurity. 1921 J. Galsworthy To Let 171 And now this anonymous ruffian, with nothing to gain, apparently, save the venting of his spite against foreigners, had wrenched it out of the obscurity in which he had hoped and wished it would remain. 1959 G. L. Harding Antiq. Jordan iv. 81 Jarash began to emerge from the obscurity of a small village to the importance of a Hellenistic town. 2002 NFT Programme Booklet (National Film Theatre) Mar. 29/1 She avoided the total obscurity suffered by many Rank starlets. b. An obscure or unknown person. Now (also): something (esp. a musical recording, etc.) that has fallen into obscurity. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of no note or ordinary nothinga1616 nondescript1776 obscurity1822 unnotable1860 1822 Athenæum 14 Jan. 51/2 Herr Zart goes through the whole number of obscurities from Leibnitz to Kant. 1890 B. L. Gildersleeve Ess. & Stud. 306 I left them all and married this poor, young obscurity. 1995 Mojo Jan. 106/4 The Golden Age Of Rock'n'Roll, Volume 4 (Ace) Hep-cat obscurities from 1954–1963. 2000 Country Music People May 12/3 I bought it for obscurities like Blind Willie Dunn's Gin Bottle Four, dating from 1929. II. Senses relating to absence of light or conspicuousness. 4. Absence of light (total or partial); darkness; dimness, indistinctness. Formerly (also): a dark place or spot; (Astronomy) a sunspot. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > [noun] thesternessc888 thesterc897 murkOE theosterleykc1000 darkc1300 darkheadc1300 murknessa1325 therknessa1325 darknessc1350 tenebres1413 tenebrousa1450 obscurity1481 tenebrosity1490 obscureness1509 dern?a1513 sable?a1513 darksomeness1571 fuliginousness1576 darkishness1583 murksomeness1625 obscure1667 soot1789 tenebrity1789 nightness1839 raylessness1843 lightlessness1845 darkling1882 unlight1883 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xxv. 118 This thynge is the clowde, But it hath not so moche obscurete that it taketh fro vs the clernes of the day. a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 1814 (MED) The Amatyste folowith the Rubie in dignyte, In las clernys, & in more obscuryte. c1500 Melusine (1895) 22 None obscurte [Fr. obscurté] or darknes was seen about it. 1599 T. M. Micro-cynicon iii. sig. B6 Into Cymerian black obscuritie. 1611 Bible (King James) Isa. lix. 9 We waite for light, but behold obscuritie . View more context for this quotation 1640 W. Crabtrie in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 27 280 I must acknowledge you say more for the stellifying of these Solar Obscurities, than I have heard before. 1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus iv. i. f. 445^v The Maculæ or Spots are certain Cloudy Obscurities, appearing upon the Disque of the Sun. 1705 J. Dennis Gibraltar iv. i. 46 Help'd by the Obscurity of the Night, and a lusty dose of Brandy,..I will turn Diego's Stratagem to your Advantage, and to his own Confusion. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 21 The obscurity of the dawn confined his views. 1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xlvii. 444 A strange, palpable obscurity..gradually wrapped itself over every thing. 1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) II. xx. 377 Caulaincourt..galloped in the deep obscurity by another route to Paris. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl ix. 206 Alvina had set back in the cab and watched from her obscurity the many faces on the street. 1988 R. Rendell Veiled One (1989) ii. 18 The lane was narrow and very dark and Clifford Sanders drove even more slowly than the winding obscurity warranted. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1474
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