/oh bee"dee euhns/ , n.
1. the state or quality of being obedient.
2. the act or practice of obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance: Military service demands obedience from its members.
3. a sphere of authority or jurisdiction, esp. ecclesiastical.
4. Chiefly Eccles.
a. conformity to a monastic rule or the authority of a religious superior, esp. on the part of one who has vowed such conformance.
b. the rule or authority that exacts such conformance.
[ 1150-1200; ME oboedientia. See OBEDIENT, -ENCE ]
Syn. 2. submission, subservience, deference.