Definition of "oblate" []

• Having the shape of a spheroid generated by rotating an ellipse about its shorter axis. (adjective)
• Having an equatorial diameter greater than the distance between poles; compressed along or flattened at the poles: Planet Earth is an oblate solid. (adjective)
• A layperson dedicated to religious life. (noun)
• Roman Catholic Church A member of one of various religious communities for men or women. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The Church, therefore, in the twelfth century, forbade the dedication of children in this way, and the term oblate has since been taken to mean persons, either lay or cleric, who voluntarily attach themselves to some monastery or order without taking the vows of religious."
• "An oblate is a secular Benedictine; that’s for people who are married, or even Protestants."
• "At a later date the word "oblate" was used to describe such lay men or women as were pensioned off by royal and other patrons upon monasteries or benefices, where they lived as in an almshouse or hospital."