obeyed

Obeyed is the past tense and past participle of the verb obey. It denotes the act of complying with commands, rules, orders, or requests, often implying submission to authority or guidance.

Etymology: The word derives from Middle English obeyen, from Old French obeir (obéir) “to listen, to heed, to obey,” from Latin oboedire “to listen toward, to hearken to.” The sense of listening or heeding led to the modern meaning of compliance.

Usage: In everyday English, obey is used for following directives in contexts such as families, workplaces, schools, and legal or military settings. The related noun is obedience; the adjective is obedient. While obey and comply are near-synonyms, obey often connotes adherence to an authority, whereas comply is more neutral or formal and can describe fulfilling specific requirements.

Examples: The soldiers obeyed the captain’s orders. Children are expected to obey their parents. In formal or legal writing, one might say that individuals or organizations have complied with regulations, though “obey” remains common in discussions of commands and rules. Obeyed as a form appears in historical or narrative texts to describe past actions of obedience.