ovatio

Forms

ovātiō f (genitive ovātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ovō (“to celebrate a minor triumph, rejoice”) + -tiō, an action noun from the verb.^[2][1][3] De Vaan reconstructs the verb as Proto-Italic *owā- and compares the cries of joy behind Ancient Greek εὐάζω (euázō, “to cry for joy”); he holds that the Latin verb cannot be borrowed from Greek, since its ⟨ov-⟩ presupposes the Proto-Italic change of /eu̯/ to /ou̯/.^[4]

Servius explained the name from the sheep (ovis) that the general sacrificed, as the TLL reports.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Suetonius, who records that the Claudian family won six triumphs and two ovations.^[5][6] The sense is a minor triumph, granted to a general whose victory did not qualify for a full triumphus.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the lesser triumph the victor entered the city on horseback or on foot, not in a chariot, wearing a wreath of myrtle.^[7][8] Florus writes of a commander who was content with an ovation for a victory over slaves, and Gellius uses the word too.^[5][9] Ancient writers set it beside the greater triumph: Servius calls it a “minor triumph”.^[5]

In the 5th century Sidonius Apollinaris used it more loosely of the joyful welcome given to someone returning home,^[5] and Wiktionary gives the general sense “jubilation”.^[1] Medieval British writers still used it for the minor triumph and contrasted it with the laurel of the full triumph.^[10] English borrowed it in the 1530s in the Roman sense, from French or directly from Latin.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 75–150 AD – Suetonius uses it for the minor triumphs of the Claudian family.^[5][6]
• c. 120 AD – Florus writes of a general content with an ovation over slaves.^[5][6]
• c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it in the plural.^[8][6]
• c. 400 AD – Servius derives the word from the sheep sacrificed at the ceremony.^[5][6]
• 1530s – Borrowed into English as ovation.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. An ovation, a lesser triumph in which the victorious general entered Rome on foot or on horseback.^[2][7]
2. (figurative) A joyful reception, jubilation.^[5][1]

Related words

• ovo
• English ovation

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. ^ 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 g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com