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obtestor

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word obtestor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
220–130 BC, Pacuvius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*trito-sth₂-o-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔpˈtɛs.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [obˈtɛs.tor][1]

Forms

obtestor (present infinitive obtestārī, perfect active obtestātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] It is also spelled optestor, and an active obtestō occurs.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from ob- (“before, towards”) and testor (“to bear witness”).[2][3] ⟨testor⟩ is made from testis (“witness”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *tri-sto/i- and Proto-Indo-European *trito-sth₂-o- (“standing by as third”), the witness being the third party.[4] Cognate with Oscan trstus (“witnesses”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pacuvius has “I beseech you, come quickly to the aid of the holy censor!”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to call on someone or something as witness, as Brutus' appeal to their close ties and to Cicero's goodwill, and to call on someone's aid, to beseech or implore.[2][5][1] It is also to declare solemnly or on oath, as the orator Mancinus' “I saw Gnaeus Carbo declaring that he had been murdered by you”, and, of the future, to vow;[2][5] Apuleius uses it as “to attest”.[2][5]

Church Latin glosses it “entreat, implore; adjure, call to witness”.[6]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius of a plea for help.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Brutus' letter to Cicero.[2][7]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius of prayers that attest a bond.[2][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To call to witness, invoke.[2][5][1][6]
  2. To beseech, implore.[2][5][1][6]
  3. To declare solemnly, assert on oath; to vow; to attest.[2][5]

Word family

  • obtestātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b 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 f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Obtestor.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/obtestor. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·