obtrectation

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle French obtrectacion and its source, Latin obtrectātiō (disparagement), from the participle stem of obtrectāre.

Noun

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obtrectation (countable and uncountable, plural obtrectations)

  1. (obsolete) Disparagement, the belittling of someone or something; slander. [16th–18th c.]
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: [], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: [] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
      , I.2.5.i:
      For as anger, fear, sorrow, obtrectation, emulation, etc. [] cause grievous diseases in the body, so bodily diseases affect the soul by consent.