oblige-v; 2 Senses

Sense Number 1: provide a service or favor for

Commentary:
NOTE: 'Noblesse oblige' is a borrowing from French and a noun - tag 'X'.
NOTE: Compare to Sense 2; in Sense 1, NP1 is not coercing the action of another human being/animate entity. Syntax Is: NP1 OBLIGE (NP2)

Examples:
She begged him to prepare the meal and he obliged.
The dog obliged his every whim.
Cats rarely oblige their owners' requests.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NP
PropBank: oblige.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 3

Sense Number 2: force someone to do something; bind to an obligation

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1[agent] OBLIGE NP2[animate] COMP

Examples:
We oblige all the school children to join hands and pledge their support.
She obliged him to give up his life of crime.
The new law obliges journalists to give up their ability to report freely.

Mappings:
VerbNet: force-59
FrameNet: NP
PropBank: oblige.02
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 2