Etymologically
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obsidio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔpˈsɪ.di.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [obˈsiː.di.o][1]

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

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