obvention means the act of happening incidentally; that which happens casually; an incidental advantage; an occasional offering. It carries an Arena rating of 1613, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, obvention ranks #149 of 13,330 for Most Malleable Words, #864 of 13,330 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,502 of 13,330 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,678 of 13,330 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
obvention is pronounced /ɒbˈvɛnʃən/.
Why “obvention” is a great word
An incidental or occasional benefit, particularly an irregular ecclesiastical revenue or offering, arriving from Latin *obvenīre* ("to come before, befall"), from *ob-* ("toward") and *venīre* ("to come"), and first attested in English c1425. Unlike an emolument, a calculated compensation for service, or a tithe, a regular and obligatory levy, an obvention is the unlooked-for gift. It is the unexpected bequest from a forgotten relative, the stray coins found in the pocket of last winter's coat, or the humble sheaf of wheat left at the chapel door—a small, unearned grace that reminds us our sustenance often depends on accidents of arrival, recorded, if at all, in the faintest of inks.
Etymology
From Latin obventio, from obvenire (“to come before or in the way of, to befall”), from ob (see ob-) + venire (“to come”). Compare French obvention.
noun
- The act of happening incidentally; that which happens casually; an incidental advantage; an occasional offering.“Tithes and other obventions.”
- An church revenue, especially one of an occasional or incidental character.“The profits of the churches of London were formerly the oblations and obventions; for which a remedy is given by law: but the Tithes and Profits of the London clergy are now settled and appointed by Act of Parliament.”
Words closest in meaning
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