obsidio

Forms

obsidiō f (genitive obsidiōnis); third declension^[1] It is also spelled opsidiō.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from obsideō (“to besiege”) with the suffix -iō.^[2][1][3] The verb is ob- (“against”) and sedeō (“to sit”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *sedē- (“to be seated”) and Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paul's epitome of Festus cites Ennius' Telamo for obsidiō as the better form than obsidium, with the line “for whom you prepare a siege”.^[3] Köbler lists Plautus.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is the besieging or blockading of a place, as Cicero's cities taken partly by force, partly by siege, Livy contrasts it with assault (oppugnātiō), and there are many phrases: obsidiōne cingere to besiege, obsidiōnem solvere to raise or end a siege, obsidiōne eximere to relieve.^[2][3] Figuratively it is a pressing danger, as Cicero's state freed from siege and moneylenders saved from losing their money.^[3]

Church Latin glosses it “siege”.^[6] In medieval Latin it was also the condition of a hostage, as if from obses (“hostage”).^[7]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius of preparing a siege.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of cities taken by siege and of pressing danger.^[3][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar of holding someone under siege.^[3][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of siege as against assault.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A siege, blockade.^[2][1][3]
2. (figurative) Pressing danger.^[3]
3. (Medieval Latin) The condition of a hostage.^[7]

Word family

• obsidiōnālis

Related words

• obsideō
• obsidium
• sedeō
• oppugnātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill