oblivion (English)

Where does "oblivion" come from?

The English word 'oblivion' traces its roots back to the Latin term 'oblīvīscor,' which literally meant to 'start to erase' or 'smooth over' memory. This evolved into the Latin noun 'oblīviō,' meaning forgetfulness, before passing through Anglo-Norman and Middle English to enter our modern vocabulary. Today, it encapsulates both the act of completely forgetting and the state of being forgotten, representing a final descent into non-existence.

Full etymology tree

• oblivion (English), 'The state of forgetting completely, of being oblivious, unconscious, unaware, as when sleeping, drunk, or dead.'
  • inherited oblivion (Middle English), 'oblivion (state of forgetting completely)'
    • inherited oblivion (Old French), 'forgetfulness'
      • learned borrowing oblīviō (Latin), 'The act of forgetting, forgetfulness.'
        • derived oblīvīscor (Latin), 'to forget'
          • prefix ob- (Latin), 'towards; against'
            • inherited *op (Proto-Italic), 'towards'
              • inherited *h₁epi (Proto-Indo-European), 'on, at, near'
          • derived lēvis (Latin), 'light, not heavy'
            • inherited *leɣʷis (Proto-Italic), 'light'
              • inherited *h₁lengʰwih₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
                • inherited *h₁léngʰus (Proto-Indo-European), 'lightweight'
                  • inherited *h₁lengʷʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to move lightly, effortlessly'
              • influence *breɣʷis (Proto-Italic), 'short, small'
          • suffix -ēscor (Latin)
        • suffix -iō (Latin), 'Used to form abstract nouns from verbs.'

Direct ancestors

• oblivion (Middle English)
• oblivion (Middle English)
• oblivio (Latin)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris