Obscure

[uh b-skyoo r] /əbˈskyʊər/

adjective, obscurer, obscurest.
1.
(of meaning) not clear or plain; ambiguous, vague, or uncertain:
an obscure sentence in the contract.
2.
not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive:
obscure motivations.
3.
(of language, style, a speaker, etc.) not expressing the meaning clearly or plainly.
4.
indistinct to the sight or any other sense; not readily seen, heard, etc.; faint.
5.
inconspicuous or unnoticeable:
the obscure beginnings of a great movement.
6.
of little or no prominence, note, fame, or distinction:
an obscure French artist.
7.
far from public notice, worldly affairs, or important activities; remote; retired:
an obscure little town.
8.
lacking in light or illumination; dark; dim; murky:
an obscure back room.
9.
enveloped in, concealed by, or frequenting darkness.
10.
not bright or lustrous; dull or darkish, as color or appearance.
11.
(of a vowel) having the reduced or neutral sound usually represented by the schwa (ə).
verb (used with object), obscured, obscuring.
12.
to conceal or conceal by confusing (the meaning of a statement, poem, etc.).
13.
to make dark, dim, indistinct, etc.
14.
to reduce or neutralize (a vowel) to the sound usually represented by a schwa (ə).
noun
15.
.
/əbˈskjʊə/
adjective
1.
unclear or abstruse
2.
indistinct, vague, or indefinite
3.
inconspicuous or unimportant
4.
hidden, secret, or remote
5.
(of a vowel) reduced to or transformed into a neutral vowel (ə)
6.
gloomy, dark, clouded, or dim
verb (transitive)
7.
to make unclear, vague, or hidden
8.
to cover or cloud over
9.
(phonetics) to pronounce (a vowel) with articulation that causes it to become a neutral sound represented by (ə)
noun
10.
a rare word for obscurity
adj.

c.1400, “dark,” figuratively “morally unenlightened; gloomy,” from Old French obscur, oscur “dark, clouded, gloomy; dim, not clear” (12c.) and directly from Latin obscurus “dark, dusky, shady,” figuratively “unknown; unintelligible; hard to discern; from insignificant ancestors,” from ob “over” (see ob-) + -scurus “covered,” from PIE *(s)keu- “to cover, conceal” (see sky). Related: Obscurely.
v.

early 15c., “to cover (something), cloud over,” from obscure (adj.) or else from Middle French obscurer, from Latin obscurare “to make dark, darken, obscure,” from obscurus. Related: Obscured; obscuring.

“A Formal Description of the Specification Language OBSCURE”, J. Loeckx, TR A85/15, U Saarlandes, Saarbrucken, 1985.
[Jargon File]