obtrectation

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noun

Disparagement, the belittling of someone or something; slander.

OriginMiddle French obtrectacion ← Latin obtrectātiō →
First used 16th–18th c.Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounobtrectation (countable and uncountable, plural obtrectations)

plural obtrectations

  1. countableobsoleteuncountableDisparagement, the belittling of someone or something; slander.First known use 16th–18th c.

    For as anger, fear, sorrow, obtrectation, emulation, etc.[…]cause grievous diseases in the body, so bodily diseases affect the soul by consent.

    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 2, member 5, subsection 1

Origin

  1. Latinobtrectātiō“disparagement”
  2. Middle Frenchobtrectacion
  3. Englishobtrectation

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

More words from Middle French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

obtrectation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obtrectation

MLA

“obtrectation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obtrectation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “obtrectation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obtrectation.

Source: obtrectation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.