Etymologically
Log in

obligatio

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word obligatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin obligō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin obligo
French obliger
Latin obligatio
From the same root
Latin obligatus ← obligo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔb.lɪˈɡaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ob.liˈɡat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

obligātiō f (genitive obligātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin obligō (“to bind, oblige”) + -tiō.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, in a letter to Brutus, contrasts the pledging of one's mind and judgement for someone with the lesser pledging of money: quam pecuniae obligatio.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Its basic meaning was a pledge or guarantee.[2] It was used of mortgaging property,[2] and above all as a legal term for the state of being bound by law: the jurists defined it as a tie by which one person is bound to give, do or perform something for another, arising from a contract or from a wrong.[2][4] Gaius speaks of obligations made by words or by writing.[2] It also named the document that recorded such a bond.[4] Later, it meant a binding in the literal sense (of being tongue-tied) and, in the Vulgate, an entangling or snare.[4] Medieval Latin kept it for a legal obligation.[5] English obligation (c. 1300) comes from Old French and directly from Latin.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a pledge.[2][7]
  • 140–180 AD – Gaius uses it of obligations created by words or writing.[2][7]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of snares or evil devices.[4][7]
  • 533 AD – The Digest uses it of a legal bond and of the document recording it.[4][7]
  • c. 1300 – Borrowed into English, partly through French, as obligation.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pledging or guaranteeing.[2][4]
  2. The mortgaging of property.[2]
  3. (law) The state of being legally bound; an obligation.[2][4][5]
  4. A document confirming such an obligation, a bond.[4]
  5. A binding;[4][8] (figurative) an entangling, snare.[4][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Obligatio.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/obligatio. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·