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Origin and history of oracle

oracle(n.)

late 14c., "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event, from Old French oracle "temple, house of prayer; oracle" (12c.) and directly from Latin oraculum, oraclum "divine announcement, oracle; place where oracles are given," from ōrare "to pray to, plead to, beseech" (see orator), with material instrumental suffix -culo-.

In antiquity, "the agency or medium of a god," also "the place where such divine utterances were given." This last sense is attested in English from early 15c. Extended sense of "uncommonly wise person" is from 1590s.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to oracle

orator(n.)

late 14c., oratour, "an eloquent or skilled speaker; one who pleads or argues for a cause," from Anglo-French oratour (Modern French orateur) and directly from Latin orator "speaker," from ōrare "to speak, speak before a court or assembly, pray to, plead."

This is sometimes said to be from PIE root *or- "to pronounce a ritual formula" (source also of Sanskrit aryanti "they praise," Homeric Greek are, Attic ara "prayer," Hittite ariya- "to ask the oracle," aruwai- "to revere, worship"). But according to de Vaan, the Latin word is rather from Proto-Italic *ōs- "mouth," from PIE *os- "mouth" (see oral). He writes:

The chronology of the attestations shows that 'to plead, speak openly' is the original meaning of orare .... The alternative etymology ... seems very unlikely to me: a connection with Skt. a-aryanti 'they acknowledge' and Ru. orat' 'to shout', since nothing suggests a meaning 'to shout' for the Latin verb, nor does it seem onomatopoeic.

The general meaning "public speaker," is attested from early 15c. Fem. forms were oratrice (early 15c., from Anglo-French); oratrix (mid-15c., from Latin); oratress (1580s).

oracular(adj.)

"of or pertaining to, or of the nature of, an oracle or oracles," 1670s, from Latin oraculum (see oracle) + -ar. The older word was oraculous (1610s). Related: Oracularity.

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    prophet
    late 12c., "person who speaks for God; one who foretells, inspired preacher," from Old French prophete, profete "prophet, soothsayer" (11c., Modern French prophète) and directly from Latin propheta, from Greek prophētēs (Doric prophatēs) "an interpreter, spokesman, proclaimer; a
    seer
    late 14c., "one to whom divine revelations are made, prophet, person who sees or foretells future events," agent noun from see (v.). Originally rendering Latin videns, Greek bleptor (rendering Hebrew roeh) in Bible translations (such as I Kings ix.9). The rare literal sense of "o
    Delian
    Delian problem "find the length of the side of a cube having double the volume of a given cube," was set by the oracle at...
    pythoness
    It is the fem. of pytho "familiar spirit;" which ultimately is connected with the title of the prophetess of the Delphic Oracle...
    rhabdomancy
    hidden in the earth, ores or underground water), with -mancy "divination by means of" (from Greek manteia "divination, oracle...
    necromancy
    exhumed corpse," from Greek nekromanteia, from nekros "dead body" (from PIE root *nek- (1) "death") + manteia "divination, oracle...
    Europe
    recorded in the Homeric hymn to Apollo (522 B.C.E. or earlier): "Telphusa, here I am minded to make a glorious temple, an oracle...
    divination
    late 14c., divinacioun, "act of foretelling by supernatural or magical means the future, or discovering what is hidden or obscure," from Old French divination (13c.), from Latin divinationem (nominative divinatio) "the power of foreseeing, prediction," noun of action from past-pa
    sibyl
    "woman supposed to possess powers of prophecy, female soothsayer," c. 1200, from Old French sibile, sibille, from Latin Sibylla, from Greek Sibylla, a name for any of several prophetesses consulted by ancient Greeks and Romans. The word is of uncertain origin, by Jerome said to b
    shrine
    Middle English shrine "repository in which a holy object or the relics of a saint are kept," from late Old English scrin "ark (of the covenant); chest, coffer; case for relics," from Latin scrinium "case or box for keeping papers," a word of unknown origin. A widespread Latin bor

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