v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Obeyed p. pr. & vb. n. Obeying. ] [ OE. obeyen, F. obéir, fr. L. obedire, oboedire; ob (see Ob-) + audire to hear. See Audible, and cf. Obeisance. ] 1. To give ear to; to execute the commands of; to yield submission to; to comply with the orders of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Eph. vi. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

Was she the God, that her thou didst obey? Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To submit to the authority of; to be ruled by. [ 1913 Webster ]

My will obeyed his will. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Afric and India shall his power obey. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To yield to the impulse, power, or operation of; as, a ship obeys her helm. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To give obedience. [ 1913 Webster ]

Will he obey when one commands? Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ By some old writers obey was used, as in the French idiom, with the preposition to. [ 1913 Webster ]

His servants ye are, to whom ye obey. Rom. vi. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

He commanded the trumpets to sound: to which the two brave knights obeying, they performed their courses. Sir. P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who yields obedience. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Obediently; submissively. [ 1913 Webster ]