Where does “oblivion” come from?
Oblivion comes from Old French oblivion, from Latin oblivio (forgetting), derived from Latin obliviscor (to forget), with ob- (against) and obolus from Ancient Greek ὀβολός, ultimately from ὀβελός and βέλος (dart).
oblivion (English): The state of forgetting completely, of being...
Definitions
- The state of forgetting completely, of being...
Ancestry of “oblivion”, step by step
oblivion traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English oblivion
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | oblivion | oblivion state of forgetting completely |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | oblivion | forgetfulness |
| 3 | Latin | oblīviō | The act of forgetting, forgetfulness |
| 4 | Latin | -iō | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -jō | Forms agent nouns from verbs |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via Old French oblivion
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | oblivion | forgetfulness |