English
oblivium
Oblivium comes from Latin oblīvium ‘forgetfulness’, and perhaps goes back to lēvis ‘smooth’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēvis1‘smooth’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoblīvīscor2‘forget’plus root of lēvis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoblīvium3‘forgetfulness’
- Englishearliest quotation 1699oblivium3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin obliviscor
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin oblivium
- 3 Wiktionary, English oblivium
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1699, John Evelyn, Acetaria. A Discourse of Sallets.: “Perſley, Petroſelinum, or Apium hortenſe; being hot and dry,…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēvisWiktionary, Latin obliviscor‘smooth’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoblīvīscorWiktionary, Latin oblivium‘forget’plus root of lēvis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoblīviumWiktionary, English oblivium‘forgetfulness’
- Englishearliest quotation 1699obliviumWiktionary, English oblivium. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1699, John Evelyn, Acetaria. A Discourse of Sallets.: “Perſley, Petroſelinum, or Apium hortenſe; being hot and dry,…”
Linked words
through Latin lēvis ‘smooth’
leave, relevant, elevator, elevation, lever, elevate, alleviate, levant, allege, levee, leger, levity, levitation, levitate, 26 more
Today it means
noun Oblivion.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “oblivium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin obliviscor, Latin oblivium. 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 lēvis / oblivium