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oblino

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word oblino

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₂leyH-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lino
Latin illino
Latin litura
Latin oblino

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɔb.lɪ.noː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɔb.li.no][1]

Forms

oblinō (present infinitive oblinere, perfect active oblēvī, supine oblitum); third conjugation[1] A fourth-conjugation form obliniō also occurs.[2][3] The perfect is usually oblēvī;[2][3] Varro has oblīnī.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ob- + linō (“to smear”).[2][4] De Vaan traces ⟨linō⟩ to Proto-Italic *lina- (“to smear”) and a nasal present Proto-Indo-European *h2li-n-H- (“to smear”), cognate with Welsh llynu (“to besmear”) and Ancient Greek ἀλίνειν (alínein, “to smear”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[4] whose Mostellaria has “what need is there of white lead? — to paint my cheeks”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means “to smear, daub, coat”, as with paint or mud, and Varro jokes of a villa plastered with pictures.[2] Cato uses it of sealing a jar by smearing it over.[2] It also means “to make dirty”, and figuratively “to sully, defame”, as Lucilius' “what do you care where I wallow and get dirty?”.[2] Propertius uses it of a blotted part of a letter, and Pliny the Younger of a cloyed appetite.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of painting the cheeks.[2][4][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato of sealing a jar.[2][5]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of getting dirty.[2][5]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of a blotted letter.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To smear, daub, coat.[2][3][1]
  2. To seal up by smearing.[2]
  3. To make dirty; to sully, defame.[2]
  4. To blot out.[2]
  5. To cloy the appetite.[2]

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 l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Oblino.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/oblino. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·