obiecto

Forms

obiectō (present infinitive obiectāre, perfect active obiectāvī, supine obiectātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is a frequentative of obiciō (“to throw in front of”).^[2][1][3] ⟨obiciō⟩ is from ob- and iaciō (“to throw”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Indo-European *(H)ieh₁- (“to throw, let go”), cognate with Ancient Greek ἵημι (híēmi, “to send, throw”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it in the sense of reproaching: “do you throw the country in my face?”.^[2][5] Cato complains of opponents throwing in his teeth what he would least like said.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to throw or set something before, as food, in a comedy of Pomponius.^[2] It is also to thrust forward, as Statius' shield moved this way and that, and in Virgil seabirds dip their heads into the waves.^[2][6] Sallust uses it of exposing someone to danger: a king decided to expose a young man to perils.^[2] Most often it is to reproach, to charge someone with something, in Livy, Cicero, Caesar and Tacitus.^[2]

Church Latin has it for put in the way, set against.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of reproaching.^[2][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato in a speech.^[2][5]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust of exposing to danger.^[2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of birds dipping their heads.^[2][6][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To throw or set before.^[2][1]
2. To thrust forward, put in the way, oppose.^[2][1][7]
3. To expose to danger.^[2][1]
4. To reproach someone with, charge, accuse of.^[2][6][1]

Word family

• obiectaculum
• obiectāmentum
• obiectātiō
• obiectāmen

Related words

• obiectiō
• obiector
• obiectus
• obiciō
• iaciō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ 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 d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson