Obedre

Obedre is not a standard term in modern French. It is generally considered a nonstandard or archaic form of the verb obéir, which means “to obey.” In contemporary usage, the infinitive is obéir, and obéir appears in its regular conjugation across tenses (j’obéis, tu obéis, il obéit, nous obéissons, vous obéissez, ils obéissent; past participle obéi; present participle obéissant). Because obedre is not recognized in contemporary dictionaries, it is typically treated as a misspelling or historical variant rather than a living word.

Etymology and historical notes indicate that obéir derives from Old French under the influence of Latin elements. The modern French form consolidated through centuries of orthographic standardization, retaining semantic ties to “to listen to” as a basis for obedience: to heed or comply with directives or authority.

In practice, obedre may be encountered only in older texts, dialectal spellings, or as a typographical error in modern writing. Language resources and editors generally correct obedre to obéir, except when documenting historical spellings or variations found in manuscripts.

See also: obéir, obéissance, obedience. For related discussion in English, see obedience and to obey.