Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act of offering something, such as worship or thanks, to a deity.
  • noun The act of offering the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
  • noun Something offered, especially the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
  • noun A charitable offering or gift.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of offering.
  • noun The whole office of holy communion; the eucharist.
  • noun In Roman law (oblatio), a mode of extinguishment for debt by the tender of the precise amount due.
  • noun Anything offered or presented; an offering; a gift.
  • noun Specifically Anything offered or presented in worship; an offering or sacrifice; especially, ecclesiastical, a eucharistic offering or donation; usually in the plural, the eucharistic elements or other offerings at the eucharist.
  • noun In canon law, anything offered to God and the church, whether movables or immovables.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of offering, or of making an offering.
  • noun Anything offered or presented in worship or sacred service; an offering; a sacrifice.
  • noun A gift or contribution made to a church, as for the expenses of the eucharist, or for the support of the clergy and the poor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The offering of worship, thanks etc. to a deity.
  • noun A deed or gift offered charitably.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of contributing to the funds of a church or charity
  • noun the act of offering the bread and wine of the Eucharist

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English oblacioun, from Old French oblacion, from Late Latin oblātiō, oblātiōn-, from Latin oblātus, past participle of offerre, to offer : ob-, ob- + lātus, brought; see telə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French oblacion, from Latin oblātiō ("offering"), from offerō ("I offer, present").

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