\O*bey"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Obeyed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Obeying}.] [OE. obeyen, F. ob['e]ir, fr. L. obedire,
oboedire; ob (see Ob-) + audire to hear. See {Audible}, and
cf. {Obeisance}.]
1. To give ear to; to execute the commands of; to yield
   submission to; to comply with the orders of.
         Children, obey your parents in the Lord. --Eph. vi.
                                               1.
         Was she the God, that her thou didst obey? --Milton.
2. To submit to the authority of; to be ruled by.
         My will obeyed his will.              --Chaucer.
         Afric and India shall his power obey. --Dryden.
3. To yield to the impulse, power, or operation of; as, a
   ship obeys her helm.

\O*bey"\, v. i.
To give obedience.
      Will he obey when one commands?          --Tennyson.
Note: By some old writers obey was used, as in the French
      idiom, with the preposition to.
            His servants ye are, to whom ye obey. --Rom. vi.
                                               16.
            He commanded the trumpets to sound: to which the
            two brave knights obeying, they performed their
            courses.                           --Sir. P.
                                               Sidney.