absolution

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English absolucioun,^[2] which the revised OED takes as first borrowed from Latin absolūtiō (“completion, acquittal, release”), and later as reinforced or borrowed again by way of Anglo-Norman absoluciun and Middle French absolution.^[3] Etymonline and Barnhart trace it instead to Old French absolucion, earlier assolucion,^[4][5] and Barnhart thinks that the Middle English spelling gave way to a fresh borrowing from Latin, in the 1300s or more likely the 1400s.^[5] The Latin noun is from the past participial stem of absolvō (“to set free, acquit, finish”),^[3][4][5] formed from ab- (“off, away from”) and solvō (“to loosen, untie, release”),^[4][6] which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *s(w)e-, a reflexive pronoun, and Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“to loosen, divide, cut apart”).^[4] Hoad says that the Latin verb rendered Ancient Greek ἀπολύω (apolúō).^[6] In post-classical Latin it also meant deliverance from sin or death, in Tertullian, and pardon or remission of sins, from the 4th century.^[3] Compare Spanish absolución, Italian assoluzione, Dutch absolutie and German Absolution.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Remission of sins declared by the Church.^[3][4][7] The OED's first record is an Old English handbook for confessors;^[3] Etymonline and Barnhart date the Middle English word to about 1200.^[4][5] In Anglo-Norman the word is recorded from 1160–74, of the priest's forgiveness of sin, and also of a dispensation from a vow, of letters of pardon, and of Maundy Thursday.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The formula declaring sins remitted is in the Ancrene Riwle, about 1225,^[3] and the remission of a penance or other Church sentence is recorded from about 1425.^[3] Gower has it for forgiveness in general before 1393,^[3][7] and Etymonline puts general use at about 1400.^[4] Release from an oath or other obligation is recorded from 1447, in Bokenham,^[3] and the legal sense of acquittal, from Roman law, from 1569.^[3] Johnson (1755) puts acquittal first, as a term of civil and canon law, and the remission of sins declared by the Church second.^[9] Later a judgment in South African law, absolution from the instance, a provisional acquittal after which proceedings can be started again, is recorded from 1870.^[3] Two rare uses did not survive: Jonson's for delivery of words, and Fuller's for a dismissal.^[3]

Timeline

• Old English – remission of sins declared by the Church.^[3]
• c. 1225 – the formula declaring sins remitted, in the Ancrene Riwle.^[3]
• before 1393 – forgiveness of offences in general.^[3]
• c. 1425 – remission of a penance or Church sentence.^[3]
• 1447 – release from an obligation or oath.^[3]
• 1569 – legal acquittal.^[3]
• 1870 – South African law, provisional acquittal.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of absolving someone, or the state of being absolved; release from guilt, an obligation or a penalty: He asked for no absolution from those he had wronged.^[10][11][3]
2. (Christianity) A formal remission of sins pronounced by a priest, especially in the sacrament of penance.^[10][11][3]
3. (Christianity) The form of words or rite by which this remission is declared.^[10][11][3]
4. Release from a Church censure, as from excommunication.^[11][3]
5. (civil law) Acquittal.^[11][3]
6. (South African law) In full absolution from the instance: a provisional acquittal, after which proceedings can be started again.^[3]

Word family

• nonabsolution

Related words

• absolve
• absolute
• solve
• dissolve
• assoil

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster