oratione

Oratione is the ablative singular form of the Latin noun oratio, which means speech or oration and can also mean prayer in religious contexts. Oratio is a feminine noun of the third declension, so its ablative singular ends in -e to produce oratione. The form oratione is mainly used to indicate means, manner, or circumstance in Latin constructions, especially in phrases related to speaking or praying.

In classical Latin, oratio and its ablative oratione appear in contexts describing how actions are performed or under what conditions they occur. As an ablative, oratione can function in phrases that translate roughly as “by/with the speech” or “in the speech,” and it can be part of ablative absolute constructions such as oratione habita, meaning “with the speech having been delivered.” Because oratio also covers the sense of prayer, oratione can appear in religious or ceremonial contexts as well.

The form is encountered primarily in Latin texts, inscriptions, and scholarly discussion of rhetoric, law, or religion. In modern usage, oratione is not used as an English word outside Latin quotations or grammar references, where it serves to illustrate Latin grammar or the historical sense of “speech” or “prayer.”

See also: oratio, orator, oration.