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† obtestate, v.

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Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin obtestāt-, obtestārī.
Etymology: < classical Latin obtestāt-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix3) of obtestārī obtest v.   Compare later testate v.
Obs. rare.
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  trans. To call upon, beseech, esp. to call (God, etc.) to witness.In quot. 1553   the author is parodying excessively Latinate diction.

1553   T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique iii. f. 86v   I..obtestate your sublimitee.
1604   R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet.   Obtestate, humble, to beseech, or to call to witnesse.
1632   J. Vicars tr. Virgil XII Aeneids iv. 108   Readie to die, the Gods she obtestates [L. testatur moritura deos].

1553—1632(Hide quotations)

 

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    This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004).