Much obliged

Posted by R. Berg January 28, 2003In reply to Much obliged posted by Jodi on January 27, 2003

Can anyone tell me where the saying "Much obliged" or "Most obliged" came from?

The earliest quotation for this phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary is dated approx. 1548:
"Chron. Henry VII" Yf yt chaunce me by your ayde . . . to recover . . . I . . . shalbe so muche obliged and bounde unto you.

The OED defines this sense of "oblige" as "To be bound to a person by ties of gratitude; to owe or feel gratitude; to be indebted to a person (or thing) for something. Now said only in reference to small services, esp. in making an acknowledgement or request; also, formally, where there is no real indebtedness, as in ordering goods from a tradesman, etc."