obstans

Obstans is a Latin present active participle and adjective formed from the verb obstare, meaning to oppose or stand in the way. The form obstans translates roughly as “standing in the way” or “opposing,” and it is used to describe someone or something that obstructs or resists. In classical Latin, obstans is declined as a standard present participle, agreeing with the noun it modifies. It can function attributively or predicatively.

Etymology: from ob- “against” + stare “to stand.” The word is part of the broader Latin verb family related to opposition, including obstare, obstinare, and obstinatus. In medieval and ecclesiastical Latin, obstans appears in various texts as an adjective or within descriptive phrases; outside such contexts it is not a frequent standalone term in dictionaries.

Modern usage: obstans is rarely encountered in contemporary writing outside linguistic or philological discussions. It is primarily of interest to scholars analyzing Latin grammar or historical texts. It is not a common modern English loanword; the related adjective obstinatus yields the modern English “obstinate.”

See also: obstare, obstinatus.