libatio

Forms

lībātiō f (genitive lībātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin lībō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to pour a libation”.^[2][1][3] The verb itself may first have meant “to make a sacrificial cake”, a denominal verb from lībum (“sacrificial cake”), as Steinbauer argues; de Vaan traces the group to Proto-Italic *leifo- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂le/oibʰ-o-, with the cognate Ancient Greek ἀλείφω (aleíphō, “to anoint”).^[4] He holds that λείβω (leíbō, “to pour”) is not cognate but went through the same shift of meaning,^[4] whereas Etymonline connects the Latin verb with it.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero has the plural in his speech on the soothsayers' responses, listing libationes among the rites of the games.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is an offering poured to the gods, above all of drink, and is fairly rare: Apuleius also has it.^[2][7] Macrobius uses it of the drink offerings set on a table with the sacrificial meal.^[7]

The Vulgate uses it for the drink offering of the Mosaic law,^[7][8] and Isidore of Seville distinguished it from immolatio: the latter was the offering of bread and cup, while libatio was the offering of the cup alone.^[3] British medieval writers also used it figuratively, as of a kiss.^[9] English took it over as libation in the late 14th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero lists libationes among the rites of the games.^[2][6]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of a drink offering.^[2][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for the drink offering of the Mosaic law.^[7][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville distinguishes it from immolatio.^[3][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as libation.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sacrificial offering, especially of drink; a libation.^[2][7]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A drink offering of the Mosaic law.^[7][10]
3. (Medieval Latin) libātiō ōsculī: the giving of a kiss.^[9]

Related words

• lībāmentum
• lībum
• English libation

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson