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oblate

Etymology and origin of the English word oblate

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɒbleɪt/ (UK); /ˈɑbleɪt/ (US)[1]

Etymology

The adjective comes probably from New Latin oblatus,[2][3][4][5] formed from Latin ob- “toward” and -lātus, abstracted from its opposite prōlātus “lengthened”;[2][3][6][4][5] it is related to prolate.[2][4][5] The noun is borrowed from Medieval Latin oblatus (“one offered up”),[2][3][6][4][5] the past participle of Latin offerre “to offer”,[2][3][6][4][5] and is related to offer and oblation.[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, flattened at the poles, of a spheroid (1705).[3][6][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has always been a term of geometry and astronomy, opposed to prolate.[7][5] The noun, a person devoted to a monastery or to religious work, is recorded from 1756 in Etymonline and 1864 in Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and the OED;[6][3][4][7] it was used especially of a child given by its parents to monastic life.[6][7][1] It now also names lay members of certain Roman Catholic communities.[2][4][5]

Timeline

  • 1705 – adjective, flattened at the poles.[3][6][4][7]
  • 1753 – oblateness.[7]
  • 1756 – noun, a person dedicated to religious life (Etymonline; 1864 in the OED).[6][7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Flattened at the poles, having the shape of a spheroid made by rotating an ellipse about its shorter axis.

Noun

  1. A layperson dedicated to religious life and living in a monastery without taking full vows.
  2. A member of any of various Roman Catholic communities of men or women.
  3. A child given by its parents to the care of a religious order.

Word family

  • oblately
  • oblateness
  • oblation
  • offer
  • offering
  • prolate

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Oblate.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/oblate. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·