Etymologically
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oblat

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 21:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɔ.bla/[1]

Forms

oblat m (plural oblats, feminine oblate)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin oblātus (“offered”), the past participle of Latin offerō (“to offer”) (see offrir),[2][3][4][5] used as a noun in Church Latin for a child offered to a monastery.[2][3] The feminine “oblate” “host, eucharistic bread” is from Church Latin Late Latin oblāta (“offering”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Robert Estienne (1549) has oblat de religion, a layman living in a monastery to which he had given his goods.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Cotgrave (1611) uses it for a novice, and Furetière (1690) for a child vowed to God at birth.[2] Pasquier (1607) describes the oblat as an old soldier crippled in the king's service and given his keep in an abbey of royal appointment; the feminine was also used of a poor noblewoman so placed.[2][3][6] From 1721 (Trévoux) oblate named a nun of the order of Saint Frances of Rome, and, from 1815 the word was used of members of congregations such as the Oblats de Marie-Immaculée.[2][7] Huysmans's novel L'Oblat (1903) gave oblature.[2][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – Oblation.[3]
  • 1549 – Oblat de religion in Estienne.[2]
  • 1607 – An invalid soldier in an abbey, in Pasquier.[2]
  • 1690 – A child vowed to God, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1721 – Oblate.[2]
  • 1815 – Members of religious congregations.[7]
  • 1903 – Huysmans's L'Oblat.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An oblate: a layperson attached to a religious community without taking vows.[8][1]
  2. A member of certain congregations: les Oblats de Marie-Immaculée.[8][7]
  3. (history) A child given to a monastery; an invalid soldier lodged in an abbey.[2][6]
  4. (plural, liturgy) What is offered at Mass.[8]

Word family

  • oblature
  • oblation
  • offrir
  • oublie
  • Latin oblātus

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 267a
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert