oppositio

Forms

oppositiō f (genitive oppositiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin oppōnō (“to set against”) + -tiō, formed on the participle stem ⟨opposit-⟩.^[2][3][4][1] The verb is ob- (“against”) and pōnō (“to put”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short cite it from Cicero's De inventione, of things set apart by the opposition of a negation, such as being wise and not being wise.^[5] The TLL treats that reading as a mistake for praepositione and records the word from Tertullian on, who explains Marcion's Antitheses as contrary oppositions.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The TLL's main sense is the act or effect of opposing, often of objections and contradiction in theological debate.^[2] The Vulgate speaks of the oppositiones falsi nominis scientiae, the objections of a knowledge falsely so called.^[3][4][5] In rhetoric it was the figure of antithesis,^[3][4][6] and Augustine and Boethius use it for opposition in argument and logic.^[6]

In Medieval Latin it meant an impost, a contradiction and a disputation.^[7] British sources add being set in the way of something, being at the opposite end or set as a contrast (also in logic), an obstacle, and an accusation or objection.^[8]

English opposition, first an astrological term in the late 14th century, comes from Old French and directly from this Latin word.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of Marcion's Antitheses.^[2][10]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for opposition in argument.^[6][10]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate has oppositiones falsi nominis scientiae.^[3][10]
• late 14th century – English takes it as opposition.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A setting against, opposition.^[5][2][11]
2. Contradiction, objection.^[2][3][7]
3. (rhetoric) Antithesis.^[3][4][6]
4. (logic) Opposition of terms or propositions.^[6][8]
5. (Medieval Latin) An impost.^[7]
6. (Medieval Latin) A disputation.^[7]
7. (Medieval Latin) An obstacle; an accusation.^[8]

Related words

• English opposition

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson