oblivio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ɔbˈliː.wi.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [obˈliː.vi.o]^[1]

Forms

oblīviō f (genitive oblīviōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from oblīvīscī “to forget” with the suffix -iō.^[2][3][1] The origin of oblīvīscī is uncertain: it has been explained from ob- (“over”) and the root of lēvis “smooth”, as “to smooth over, efface”, but de Vaan and others find the shift from “smooth” to “forget” unconvincing.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Furius Bibaculus in the 1st century BC,^[5] and it is found in Varro and Cicero, who would rather learn the art of forgetting than of memory.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant the act or state of forgetting, as in capit me oblivio “I forget”, and Statius and Hyginus personify it.^[2][6] It meant the state of being forgotten, oblivion, as in Cicero's ab oblivione vindicare “to rescue from oblivion” and Livy's oblivioni dare “to consign to oblivion”.^[2][7] Nepos and Velleius use it for the Athenian amnesty after the Thirty Tyrants.^[2]

As a name it was the river Lethe in the underworld and the river Limia in Spain, which Roman soldiers feared to cross.^[2][7] English borrowed it as English oblivion in the late 14th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Furius Bibaculus uses it.^[5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero contrasts the art of forgetting with the art of memory.^[2][5]
• c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses it for the Athenian amnesty.^[2][5]
• 65–8 BC – Horace writes of lividae obliviones.^[6][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as English oblivion.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or state of forgetting, forgetfulness.^[2][6]
2. The state of being forgotten, oblivion.^[2][6]
3. An amnesty.^[2]
4. Oblivio: the river Lethe; the river Limia in Spain.^[2]

Word family

• oblīviālis
• oblīviōsus
• oblīvius

Related words

• oblītus
• oblīvīscor
• oblīvium
• English oblivion

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 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 Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.