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obiurgatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word obiurgatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (iūrgō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin obiurgo
Latin obiurgatio

Forms

obiūrgātiō f (genitive obiūrgātiōnis); third declension[1] It is also spelled objūrgātiō.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin obiūrgō (“to reprove, rebuke”) + -tiō.[3][1][4] obiūrgō is a compound of ob- and iūrgō (“to quarrel”); de Vaan thinks iūrgō and iūrgium are based on a noun meaning roughly "bringing the oath", made from iūs (“law, oath”) and the root of agō (“to drive”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero uses it first,[6] as in the Laelius, where a rebuke should be free of insult.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a reproof or rebuke.[3][2] Cicero distinguishes it from admonition, which he calls a milder rebuke, and says that sometimes rebukes are necessary in which one must use a louder voice and harsher words;[2] he also pairs it with castīgātiō.[2] Festus, in Paulus' epitome, separates it from monitiō: the rebuke comes after a shameful act, the warning before it.[2] Quintilian uses it of self-reproach, and Seneca opposes rebukes to praise.[2] Stelten gives "blaming, reproving, rebuke" for Church Latin.[7] The English objurgation appears about 1500.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of rebukes.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca opposes rebukes to praise.[2]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of self-reproach.[2]
  • c. 1500 – objurgation appears in English.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A chiding, reproof, rebuke, reprimand.[3][2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Obiurgatio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/obiurgatio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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