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ob·verse (ŏb-vûrs, əb-, ŏbvûrs′)
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adj.
1. Facing or turned toward the observer: the obverse side of a statue.
2. Serving as a counterpart or complement.
n. (ŏbvûrs′, ŏb-vûrs, əb-)
1. The side of a coin, medal, or badge that bears the principal stamp or design.
2. The more conspicuous of two possible alternatives, cases, or sides: the obverse of this issue.
3. Logic The counterpart of a proposition obtained by exchanging the affirmative for the negative quality of the whole proposition and then negating the predicate: The obverse of "Every act is predictable" is "No act is unpredictable."
[Latin obversus, past participle of obvertere, to turn toward; see OBVERT.]
ob·versely adv.
(click for a larger image)
obverse
obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) of a Polish zloty coin
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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