Etymology

obliquity

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Today it means: The quality of being oblique in direction, deviating from the horizontal or vertical; or the angle created by such a deviation. Full definition →

First used 15th c.Middle French obliquité ← Latin oblīquitās
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromoblīquitās
  2. Middle French · derived fromobliquité
  3. English todayobliquity

From Middle French obliquité, from Latin oblīquitās, from oblīquus (“oblique”). Corresponding to oblique + -ity.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 15th c. The quality of being oblique in direction, deviating from the horizontal or vertical; or the angle created by such a deviation.
  • from 15th c. Mental or moral deviation or perversity; immorality.
  • from 17th c. The quality of being obscure, oftentimes willfully, sometimes as an exercise in euphemism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.