obliviate
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Late 14th century, "state or fact of forgetting," from Old French oblivion (13th century) and directly from Latin oblīviōnem (“forgetfulness; a being forgotten”), from oblīvīscī (“forget”), originally "even out, smooth over, efface," from ob- (“over”) + root of lēvis (“smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *lei-w-, from root *(s)lei- (“slime, slimy, sticky”) (see slime (noun)). Meaning "state of being forgotten" is early 15th century.
Verb
[edit]obliviate (third-person singular simple present obliviates, present participle obliviating, simple past and past participle obliviated)
- (transitive) To forget; to wipe from existence.
- Near-synonym: obliterate
- 1811, George Grennell, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- Time has not yet obliviated the veneration of our jacobins for France, while she was seething with faction and blood […]
Related terms
[edit]- obliviation (noun)
- oblivion