oblatio

Forms

oblātiō f (genitive oblātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from offerō “to offer”, through its participle ⟨oblātus⟩, with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges and Gaffiot cite Ulpian in the Digest, of offering what is left.^[4][5] Lewis & Short call it post-classical.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant the offering of something, a tender, presentation, and the right to offer.^[2] The Theodosian Code uses it of a bid at an auction and of a gift, and the Vulgate of a sacrifice.^[5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an offering, a religious sacrifice.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for a present, an estate given to a church, and the glebe that supported a church.^[8] Through Old French oblacion it gave English oblation about 1400, “an offering to a deity”.^[3]

Timeline

• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of an offer.^[4][9]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of a sacrifice.^[5][9]
• c. 1400 – English oblation is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. An offering, tender.^[2]
2. A bid (at an auction).^[5]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An oblation, sacrifice.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) An estate given to a church.^[8]

Related words

• offerō
• oblātus
• English oblation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de