English
libation
Libation comes from Latin lībātiō ‘libation, drink-offering to the gods’, and goes back to libō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElibōas lībāre‘to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElībātiō‘libation, drink-offering to the gods’
- Englishearliest quotation 1755libation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElibōas lībāre‘to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElībātiō‘libation, drink-offering to the gods’
- Englishearliest quotation 1755libation
Earliest quotation: 1755, Callimachus, The First Hymn of Callimachus. To Jupiter.: “While we to Jove the pure libations pay, Than…”
Every English word from Latin libō
Today it means
noun The act of pouring a liquid, most often wine, in sacrifice on the ground, on a ritual object, or on a victim, in honor of some deity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin libō / libation