obsession
Meaning
An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
The state of being obsessed with someone or something.
Structure
Usage
His obsession with cleanliness borders on compulsion.
She has a lifelong obsession with collecting rare stamps.
The novel explores the dark obsession of a lonely man.
Etymology
The word 'obsession' originates from the Latin verb obsidēre, meaning "to besiege". This verb itself is a compound of ob- ("against") and sedēre ("to sit"), painting a vivid picture of an army sitting down against a fortress, blockading it. In the 16th century, the related Latin noun obsessiō was used in English in this literal military sense. The psychological meaning developed in the early 17th century, initially in a religious context to describe a state of being assailed or besieged by an evil spirit. Over time, the sense of a hostile external siege softened into the modern abstract meaning of an internal, persistent, and often troubling preoccupation that "sits against" or besieges one's mind.
Analysis
- ob: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "against, in the way of, toward". - sess: Latin origin, from the root of the verb sedēre, meaning "to sit". - ion: Latin origin, a suffix forming nouns of action or condition.