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obiectio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word obiectio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 160–220 AD, Tertullian
Ultimate origin
Latin obiciō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin obicio
Latin obiectio
From the same root
Latin obiectivus ← obicio
Latin obiectum ← obicio
Latin obiectus ← obicio

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔbˈjɛk.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [obˈjɛk.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

obiectiō f (genitive obiectiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin obiciō (“to throw before, oppose”) + -tiō.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

According to the TLL it is read from Tertullian on;[2] in his work addressed to his wife it means a reproach (obiectio nominis).[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense, a putting or throwing of something in the way, appears in Ambrose (a ship's prow) and in Arnobius (a barrier of rocks).[3][5] The figurative senses were a reproach and, in argument, an objection raised against a view, as in Augustine and Macrobius;[3][4] the rhetoricians also used it for the figure called anthypophora.[3] In the manuscripts it is sometimes confused with subiectiō.[2] Medieval Latin used it for a legal charge or accusation and for an objection.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of a reproach.[2][3][7]
  • 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it of a barrier of rocks.[3][7]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of putting something before and of an objection.[3][5][7]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of an objection in argument.[3][4][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A throwing or putting before; a barrier.[3][5]
  2. A reproach, upbraiding.[3][4][8]
  3. An objection.[3][4][6]
  4. (rhetoric) The figure of answering an objection, anthypophora.[3]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A charge, accusation.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Obiectio.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/obiectio. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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