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Origin and history of obsession

obsession(n.)

1510s, "action of besieging" (a sense now obsolete), from French obsession and directly from Latin obsessionem (nominative obsessio) "siege, blockade, a blocking up," noun of action from past-participle stem of obsidere "to besiege" (see obsess). Later (c. 1600), "hostile action of an evil spirit" (like possession but without the spirit actually inhabiting the body). Transferred sense of "action of anything which engrosses the mind" is from 1670s. Psychological sense "idea or image that intrudes on the mind of a person against his will" is from 1901.

also from 1510s

Entries linking to obsession

obsess(v.)

c. 1500, "to besiege" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidere "watch closely; besiege, occupy; stay, remain, abide" literally "sit opposite to," from ob "against" (see ob-) + sedere "to sit" (from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit").

In reference to evil spirits, "to haunt," from 1530s. The psychological sense of "to haunt as a fixed idea" developed gradually from 1880s and emerged 20c. The 1895 Century Dictionary has only the two senses "besiege" (marked obsolete) and "to attack, vex, or plague from without." Related: Obsessed; obsessing.

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    compulsion
    early 15c., "coercion, application of force (to someone) overwhelming his preferences," from Old French compulsion, from Latin compulsionem (nominative compulsio) "a driving, urging," noun of action from past-participle stem of compellere "to drive, force together," from com "wit
    fixation
    late 14c., fixacion, an alchemical word, "action of reducing a volatile substance to a permanent bodily form," from Medieval Latin fixationem (nominative fixatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin fixare, frequentative of figere "to fasten, fix" (from PIE root *d
    consider
    Perhaps a metaphor from navigation, but more likely reflecting Roman obsession with divination by astrology....
    haunt
    Old French had a noun derivative, hantise "obsession, obsessive fear" (14c.)....
    football
    Ball-kicking games date back to the Roman legions, at least, but the sport seems first to have risen to a national obsession...
    preoccupation
    1550s, "state of occupying or seizing beforehand," from Latin praeoccupationem (nominative praeoccupatio) "a seizing beforehand, anticipation," noun of action from past-participle stem of praeoccupare, from prae "before" (see pre-) + occupare "seize" (see occupy). Meaning "prior
    possession
    mid-14c., possessioun, "act or fact of holding, occupying, or owning; a taking possession, occupation," also "thing possessed, that which is possessed, material or landed property" (in plural, goods, lands, or rights owned), from Old French possession "fact of having and holding;
    cowboy
    1725, "boy who tends to cows and drives them to and from pasture," from cow (n.) + boy. American-English sense of "man employed to have care of grazing cattle on the Great Plains for a stockman or ranch, doing his work on horseback" is by 1849. Earlier it was an insulting name fo
    virus
    late 14c., "poisonous substance" (a sense now archaic), from Latin virus "poison, sap of plants, slimy liquid, a potent juice," from Proto-Italic *weis-o-(s-) "poison," which is probably from a PIE root *ueis-, perhaps originally meaning "to melt away, to flow," used of foul or m
    pupil
    [student], late 14c., "orphan child, ward, person under the care of a guardian," from Old French pupille (14c.) and directly from Latin pupillus (fem. pupilla) "orphan child, ward, minor," diminutive of pupus "boy" (fem. pupa "girl"), probably related to puer "child" (and thus pr

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