O*blige" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Obliged (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Obliging (?).] [OF.
obligier, F. obliger, L. obligare;
ob (see Ob-) + ligare to bind. See Ligament, and cf. Obligate.] 1. To attach, as
by a bond. [Obs.] He had obliged all the senators and magistrates firmly to himself. Bacon. 2. To constrain by physical, moral, or legal force; to put under
obligation to do or forbear
something. The obliging power of the
law is neither founded in, nor to be measured by, the rewards and punishments annexed
to it. South. Religion obliges men to the practice of those virtues which conduce to the preservation of our health. Tillotson.
3. To bind by some
favor rendered; to place under a
debt; hence, to do a favor to; to please; to gratify; to accommodate. Thus man, by his own strength, to heaven would soar,
And would not be
obliged to God for more.
Dryden. The gates before it are
brass, and the whole much obliged to Pope Urban VIII.
Evelyn. I shall be more
obliged to you than I can express. Mrs. E. Montagu.
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