different between obligation vs modification

English

Etymology

From Middle English obligacioun, from Old French obligacion, from Latin obligatio, obligationem, from obligatum (past participle of obligare), from ob- (“to”) + ligare (“to bind”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley?- (“to bind”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?b.l???e?.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

obligation (countable and uncountable, plural obligations)

1. The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone.
2. A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action.
3. A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted.
4. (law) A legal agreement stipulating a specified action or forbearance by a party to the agreement; the document containing such agreement.
   • 1668 December 19, James Dalrymple, “Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies” in The Deci?ions of the Lords of Council & Se??ion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575

     The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Di?charge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extingui?h the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and con?equently of all the re?t, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Di?charged as to one, and ?tand as to all the re?t.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with "obligation": moral, legal, social, contractual, political, mutual, military, perpetual, etc.

Synonyms

• (the act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone): commitment
• (requirement, duty, contract or promise): duty

Antonyms

• (requirement, duty, contract or promise): right

Related terms

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obligatio, obligationem, from the verb oblig? (“tie together”).

Pronunciation

Noun

obligation f (plural obligations)

1. obligation

Related terms

• obliger

Further reading

• “obligation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Noun

obligation

1. Alternative form of obligacioun

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French modification, from Latin modificatio (“a measuring”), from modificare (“to limit, control, modify”); see modify.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?d?f??ke???n/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?d?f??ke???n/
• Hyphenation: mod?i?fi?ca?tion
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

modification (countable and uncountable, plural modifications)

1. (obsolete, philosophy) The form of existence belonging to a particular object, entity etc.; a mode of being. [17th–19th c.]
   • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 2004, p. 72:

     Pleasure is the business of woman's life, according to the present modification of society […].

2. (linguistics) the change undergone by a word when used in a construction (for instance am => 'm in I'm) [from 17th c.]
3. The result of modifying something; a new or changed form. [from 17th c.]
4. The act of making a change to something while keeping its essential character intact; an alteration or adjustment. [from 18th c.]
   • Jim's modification to the radio's tuning resulted in clearer sound.
5. (biology) A change to an organism as a result of its environment that is not transmissable to offspring. [from 19th c.]
   • Due to his sunbathing, Jim's body experienced modifications: he got a tan.
6. (linguistics) a change to a word when it is borrowed by another language
   • The Chinese word "kòu tóu" had a modification made to become the English "kowtow".

Related terms

• modify
• modifier

Translations

Further reading

• modification in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• modification in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• domification

French

Etymology

From Latin modific?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?.di.fi.ka.sj??/

Noun

modification f (plural modifications)

1. modification

   Synonyms: altération, transformation

Related terms

• modifiable
• modificateur
• modifier
• modifieur

Further reading

• “modification” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).