obstructio

Forms

obstrūctiō f (genitive obstrūctiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin obstruō + -tiō, an action noun from the verb meaning “to build up against, block”.^[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC) uses it figuratively in the speech for Sestius,^[2][4] saying of a barrier that it does not last long (haec obstructio non diuturna est).^[5]

Semantic evolution

The OLD records it only as “a barrier, obstruction”.^[2] L&S gives the literal sense, a closing up by building, from Arnobius, and treats Cicero's use as figurative.^[5] Köbler lists the variant spellings abstructio and obstruxio.^[6]

In British Medieval Latin it meant the blocking up of a passage, a stream or a view.^[7] It is the source of Italian ostruzione^[4] and of English obstruction, borrowed in the 1530s.^[8]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero, in the speech for Sestius, uses it of a barrier.^[2][4]
• 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it of a blocking up.^[5][6]
• 1223 – A British record uses it of the blocking of water.^[7]
• 1530s – English borrows it as obstruction.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A barrier, an obstruction.^[2][5]
2. (Late Latin) A closing up by building, a blocking up.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) The blocking of a passage or watercourse.^[7]

Related words

• English obstruction

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com