Is there an etymological relationship between "obvious" and "obviate" [closed]

Question

It is obvious to me that the words are related, just by spelling. Yet, no dictionary I glanced though reveals the link. I guess that obvious is something that eliminates (obviates) the uncertainty. It is obvious. Is that right?

Answer 1

This is an excellent example of two modern words that are farther away from each other than they seem:

The ancient history of obvious:

1580s, "frequently met with,"

from Latin obvius "that is in the way, presenting itself readily, open, exposed, commonplace,"

from obviam (adv.) "in the way,"

from ob "against" (see ob-) + viam, accusative of via "way"

(see via).

[ablative form of via "way, road, path, highway, channel, course," from PIE *wegh- "to go, convey"]

Meaning "plain to see, evident" is first recorded 1630s.

The ancient history of obviate:

1590s, "to meet and do away with,"

from Late Latin obviatus, past participle of obviare "act contrary to, go against,"

from Latin obvius "that is in the way, that moves against" (see obvious)

Though both reach back to the Latin obvius, the primary difference seems to appear in the connection to the Latin singular accusative viam

Phr.: on the r[oad]., inter viam, Cic.

Though routinely defined as against, the Latin prefix ob- could imply several meanings, depending on how it was used:

prefix meaning "toward, against, across, down," also used as an intensive,

from Latin ob "toward, to, over against, in the way of, by reason of, about, before, in front of,"

from PIE root *epi, also *opi "near, against" (see epi-).

With viam, ob- produces "in [front of] the way" and, by extension since 1630, "plain to see" in obvious:

ADJECTIVE

1. Easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent:

In obviatus, the ob- carries more of the against connotation with the more active past participle of viare, producing "move against," and eventually by 1590 "meet and do away with" in obviate:

VERB

[WITH OBJECT]

1.0 Remove (a need or difficulty):

1.1 Avoid or prevent (something undesirable):

www.etymonline.com

A Smaller English-Latin Dictionary: Abridged from the Larger Dictionary

www.oxforddictionaries.com