Observe

The verb 'to observe' has three different meanings. (Cf. 'remark', which has the first two but not the third of the three meanings listed below. However, whereas the first meaning of 'observe' is nowadays more common than the second, with 'remark' it is the equivalent of the second meaning that appears the more often.)

• 'To observe' most often means 'to notice something (without saying anything)'.

'To observe' takes a Direct Object. This may be either a noun phrase, for example "She observed a goldfinch". This may often have a following participial phrase, for example "He observed a man lurking in the bushes", "I observed a seagull sitting on the chimney", or it may be a noun clause: "it was observed that the mixture emitted vapour when heated"; "Marie Curie observed that the rays emitted from radium affected photographic paper."

• 'To observe' may also mean 'to comment or express an opinion': "he observed that the facts did not support the Prime Minister's opinion", or, in a less serious context, "she observed that it was a fine day."

• 'To observe' may also mean 'to comply with, abide by, or follow (e.g., a law, custom, or tradition)': "I always observe the speed limit"; "When travelling abroad, you should observe the customs of whatever country you happen to be in."

Nowadays 'to observe' is used much more often in the first and third senses than in the second. You may notice that The Observer, as the title of a newspaper, has both the ideas involved in the first and second senses of 'observe': it has the vision of a watcher of the scenes which it reports, combined with the idea of a commentator on events.

• • There are two nouns observation and observance: see Observance - observation.