Etymograph

English

oberration

Oberration comes from Latin oberrātus ‘wandered, rambled, having been wandered about’, and goes back to errō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrō1‘wander, err’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoberrō2‘wander, err’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoberrātus3as oberrate‘wandered, rambled, having been wandered about’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1675oberration3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin oberro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin oberratus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English oberration
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1675, Francis Roberts: “Oberration and peregrination of David”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrōWiktionary, Latin oberro‘wander, err’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoberrōWiktionary, Latin oberratus‘wander, err’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoberrātusWiktionary, English oberrationas oberrate‘wandered, rambled, having been wandered about’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1675oberrationWiktionary, English oberration. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1675, Francis Roberts: “Oberration and peregrination of David”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’

rory, rouse, rishi, 19 more

through Latin errō ‘wander, err’

error, err, erroneous, erratic, errant, errata, 5 more

Today it means

noun A wandering about.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “oberration”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin oberro, Latin oberratus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin errō / oberration

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