It's actually related to the English phrase "much obliged!" -- from the Latin obligare, participle obligatus, meaning to indebt (both morally and fiscally). ht

It's actually related to the English phrase "much obliged!" -- from the Latin obligare, participle obligatus, meaning to indebt (both morally and fiscally). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obligo#Descendants https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obligo#Descendants