Obie

name, noun

name, noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A small lamp positioned over the camera, sometimes used to produce catchlights in the subject's eyes.
  2. 2
    An Off-Broadway Theater Award, given annually to theatre artists and groups in New York City.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from French.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Named after the actress Merle Oberon, whose husband Lucien Ballard used this kind of lighting to hide small scars on her face after a car accident.

Etymology 2

A regularized spelling of the initials of the phrase "Off-Broadway". Thus, "OB Award" becomes "Obie Award".

Etymology 3

Altered spelling of French Aubé.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.