Meanings
- rareMay what is said not come true.First known use First attested in the late 16ᵗʰ century.
Now it was very obvious we should require a much stronger Navy in the event of war, say with France and Russia—absit omen—if we were obliged to maintain our flag in the Mediterranean, than if we were to withdraw from the Mediterranean.
1895 March 18, Henry Labouchere, SUPPLY—NAVY ESTIMATES, 1895–6. Hansard HC Deb vol 31 c.12951 more example
It was only after the younger branch annexed the elder in 679 that Tsin became powerful and began to expand; and it was only when a policy of "home rule" and disintegration set in, involving the splitting up of Tsin's orthodox power into three royal states of doubtful orthodoxy, that China fell a prey to Ts'in ambition. Absit omen to us.
1908, Edward Harper Parker, chapter XXII, in Ancient China Simplified, Chapman & HallSynonyms: God forbid, heaven forfend, heaven forbid, God forfend, lo aleinu
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionMay what is said not come true.
Origin
- Latinabsit omen“may what is said not come true”
- Englishabsit omen
Borrowed from Latin absit omen (“may what is said not come true”, literally “may omen be absent”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
absit omen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/absit%20omen
“absit omen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/absit%20omen. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “absit omen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/absit%20omen.
Source: absit omen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.