Etymologically
Log in

oppositio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔp.pɔˈsɪ.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [op.poˈs̬it.t͡si.o][1]

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]

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