oracle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɔɹəkəl/, /ˈɒɹəkəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English oracle,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French oracle (“temple, house of prayer; oracle”),^[2][4][5][3] from Latin ōrāculum (“divine announcement; place where oracles are given”),^[2][4][5][3] from ōrāre (“to speak, pray, plead”) (see orator) and the suffix -culum,^{[2][4][5][3][6]} from ōs (“mouth”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A message from a god given through a priest or priestess, or the medium by which a god made his will known (about 1380 in Barnhart; c. 1400 in the OED; late 14th century in Etymonline).^[4][8][5]

Semantic evolution

In antiquity the word meant the agency or medium of a god and also the place where his responses were given, such as the oracle of Apollo at Delphi.^[5][2][6] It was transferred to Jewish and Christian revelation, and named the holy of holies in the Jewish temple (15th century).^[9][8][10] From the 16th century it meant a person or thing regarded as an authoritative or infallible guide.^[9][8] The phrase to work the oracle, to obtain an answer in one's favour by influencing the medium, dates from 1863.^[8][7] The verb, to speak as an oracle, is from about 1595.^[8] The adjective oracular is from 1631.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – a divine message given through a medium.^[4][8]
• 15th century – the holy of holies.^[9]
• 16th century – an authoritative guide.^[9]
• 1598 – an oracular response.^[8]
• 1863 – to work the oracle.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A shrine where a prophetic god was consulted, as that of Apollo at Delphi.
2. A person, such as a priestess, through whom a god was held to answer when consulted.
3. The response given through such a medium, often obscure or ambiguous.
4. A person regarded as a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an authoritative or wise statement.
5. (Bible) A command or revelation from God; the holy of holies in the Temple.

Verb

1. (archaic) To proclaim or speak as an oracle.

Word family

• oracular

Related words

• orator
• oration
• adore
• prophet

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins