Etymologically
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obiectus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔbˈjɛk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [obˈjɛk.tus][1]

Forms

obiectus m (genitive obiectūs); fourth declension[1] It is also spelled objectus.[2][1] It occurs mostly in the ablative obiectū; the accusative obiectum is found only in Lucretius and a few late authors.[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin obiciō (“to throw in the way”) + -tus.[4][1][3] obiciō is a compound of ob- and iaciō (“to throw”),[5] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *jak-i- (“to throw”) and Proto-Indo-European *(H)ieh₁- (“to throw, let go”).[5] Cognate with Ancient Greek ἵημι (híēmi, “to send, let go, throw”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Lucretius,[6] who speaks of the holding up of a shield, dare obiectum parmai.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of placing something in the way, an interposition:[4] Cicero, in the De re publica, speaks of something that by mutual interposition makes shadow and night.[4] In concrete use it is the thing placed in the way, a barrier, as in Caesar's plutei obiectū, by the barrier of a mantlet.[4] Virgil has an island forming a harbour by the barrier of its sides.[2] Lewis & Short note that it is mostly poetic and post-Augustan.[2] An inscription has it as a charge, an accusation,[4] and in medieval Latin it means an accusation or an objection.[7] Church Latin uses it for an obstacle, an appearance or a sight.[8]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of holding up a shield.[2][3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of an interposition causing shadow.[4][6]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar, of a barrier of mantlets.[4][6]
  • Medieval Latin – An accusation, an objection.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of placing something in the way, interposition.[4][2]
  2. Something placed in the way, a barrier, obstacle.[4][1][8]
  3. A charge, accusation.[4][7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) An objection.[7]

Usage notes

The perfect passive participle of obiciō has the same spelling, obiectus, -a, -um, “thrown in the way, exposed”.[2][1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson