Ob-

From Latin ob.

Prefix

1. (non-productive) Against; facing; a combining prefix found in verbs of Latin origin.
2. (botany) Of a reversed shape.

Derived terms

• obcordate
• object
• objective
• observe
• obsess
• obstruct
• obscene
• obfuscate
• oppose
• opposition
• obverse
• obscure
• obliterate
• obvious
• obviate

Shortening.

Prefix

1. (Internet, informal) Obligatory; prepended to the name of a topic being mentioned to avoid accusations of being off-topic.
• 1998, "Haydn Black", lesbian goths (discussion on Internet newsgroup alt.gothic)ObGoth: Uh, well, it's like this you see, anyone out there got the new CoX album on Tess? If so which album is it *most* like?
• 1998, "Peter Thomas", FAQ: more info request (discussion on Internet newsgroup comp.sys.sinclair)Aren't Newcastle's chairman Sunderland supporters? (From the way they acted?) Erm...obspeccy? Tynesoft, eh? What happened to them?
• 2000, "Dan Glover", Introduction to Linux article for commentary (discussion on Internet newsgroup alt.linux)ObLinux: SAP were giving away a free development environment for use with RedHat v6.1 recently, a distinctly non-free complete system has been available for a while. This offers another example of a commercial application where the vendors now have sufficient confidence in Linux to release a port (even if it is distribution-specific).