Etymologically
Log in

obiaceo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 20:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔbˈja.ke.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [obˈjaː.t͡ʃe.o][1]

Forms

obiaceō (present infinitive obiacēre, perfect active obiacuī); second conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1] It is also spelled ⟨objaceō⟩.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin ob- (“before, against”) + iaceō (“to lie”).[3][4][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of iaciō (“to throw”) and explains iaceō as its stative counterpart, “to be thrown down”, hence “to lie”; iaciō goes back to Proto-Italic *jak-i- (“to throw”) and to the present Proto-Indo-European *(H)ih₁-k- (“to throw, let go”).[5] He compares Ancient Greek ἵημι (híēmi, “to send, throw”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Ennius,[5] in a tragic line about going to the Acheron, where the treasures of Death lie.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

It means to lie before or near something:[3][2] Livy has stones lying at the soldiers' feet, and in geography Mela, Columella, Pliny the Elder and Tacitus use it of lands and islands lying opposite or near, as Egypt lies to the south.[3][6] Paulus' epitome of Festus glosses the perfect as having lain before.[2]

It also meant to lie in the way: Livy has a heap of baggage blocking the soldiers, and Tacitus the river Po in the way of an army.[3][6] Seneca uses it figuratively of lowliness and disgrace that hide virtue, and in his Oedipus of lofty power that lies exposed to Fortune.[3][6] Lewis and Short note that it is mostly post-Augustan and not in Cicero or Caesar.[2]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it in a tragedy of the treasures of Death.[3][7]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of baggage lying in the way.[3][7]
  • 43/44 AD – Mela uses it of lands lying opposite.[3][7]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of power exposed to Fortune.[3][7]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of Egypt and of the Po.[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To lie near or at hand;[3][2] (in topography) to lie near or opposite (to).[3][2]
  2. To lie in the way, obstruct, block the path (of).[3][6]
  3. To lie exposed (to), be at the mercy (of).[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de