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I would guess that it is an alternative spelling of _horripilatio_ 'shuddering, trembling'; cf. _horripilare_ class. Lat. 'to bristle', med. Lat. 'to tremble' (see Niermeyer). For the -b- spelling, cf. 'obpressus' cited in K. P. Harrington's _Medieval Latin_. Bella M. On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 11:48:16 -0500 Patrick Nugent <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dear Colleagues, > > Has any of you ever come across the (Latin) word "obripilatio"? I can't > make head nor tail of it nor find it in OLD or or Niermeyer. It occurs in > the context of a girl stricken suddenly with a seizure and afterward > rendered hysterical. While working in the garden, she has just fallen to > the ground: > > "Tum quoque, cum subita obripilatione, tremor membrorum continuus illi > exstitit." > > I can provide more context if you like. My best guess is that the author > has contructed it from "repello", so that it would connote being struck a > blow, but it seems an awfully inflated word, and the spelling is bizarre. > (This comes from a miracle collection from AASS, which in the volume I'm > using is usually pretty careful to comment on, or to standardize, bizarre > orthography.) Any ideas? > > Many thanks, > > > Patrick Nugent. > > > > __________________________________ > Patrick J. Nugent > Earlham College > Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA > > (765) 983-1413 > [log in to unmask] > __________________________________ ---------------------- Dr Bella Millett [log in to unmask] English Department University of Southampton Southampton SO17 1BJ 023 80593704