Excessively eager to please or obey; showing servile compliance or deference. Obsequious behavior involves fawning attention that often seems insincere.
From Latin obsequiosus, from obsequi meaning 'to follow after' or 'to comply with,' combining ob (toward) and sequi (to follow). Originally neutral, it developed negative connotations of excessive, degrading compliance.
Think 'ob-SEEK-we-us' — someone so desperate to seek approval that they follow you around like a puppy, agreeing with everything. The 'follow' root is key: obsequious people follow others' wishes to an embarrassing degree.
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