The cognomen (plural: cognomina) was originally the third name of an Ancient Roman in the Roman naming convention. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a Name in Ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts ( tria The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary (and thus more like a family name). A nickname is a Name of an entity or thing that is not its Proper name. A family name or last name is a type of Surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs Cognomen is derived from the prefix co- ("together with") and nomen ("name"). A prefix is a type of Affix attached to a stem which modifies the meaning of that stem The term (with an Anglicized plural cognomens) has taken on a less specific meaning. Anglicisation or anglicization (see -ise vs -ize) is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English
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Historical usage
Because of the limited nature of the Latin praenomen, the cognomen developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. See Praenomen (Ancient Egypt for the pharaonic throne name In Roman naming conventions, the praenomen (literally forename Scipio Africanus Major is one example, but some Romans – notably general Gaius Marius – had no cognomen at all. Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major ( Latin: P·CORNELIVS·P·F·L·N·SCIPIO·AFRICANVS ¹) (236&ndash183 This article is about the Roman statesman who reorganized the army and was seven times Consul By the Late Roman Republic, however, the use of cognomina even in daily conversation had become typical. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the In the early Roman Empire we find the Annaean clan differentiating brothers solely by the cognomen: Lucius Annaeus Seneca Maior had three sons: L. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Annaeus Novatus, L. Annaeus Seneca Minor and L. Annaeus Mela.
In contrast to the honorary cognomina adopted by successful generals, most cognomina were based on a physical or personality quirk; for example, Rufus meaning red-haired or Scaevola meaning left-handed. Gaius Mucius Scaevola was a noble and probably mythical Roman youth famous for his bravery
The upper-class usually used the cognomen to refer to one another. [1]
Today, we refer to many prominent ancient Romans by only their cognomen; for example, Cicero (meaning "chickpea") serves as a shorthand for Marcus Tullius Cicero and Caesar for Gaius Julius Caesar (see Etymology of the name of Julius Caesar). Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman The chickpea ( Cicer arietinum) (also garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, chana, kadale kaalu, The name Caesar probably originated from a dialect of Latium which did not share the Rhotacism of the Roman dialect
General English-language usage
Cognomen (pluralized cognomens) has also been assimilated into English, and is used more generally (i. e. outside the context of Ancient Rome and Latin naming) as a catch-all term for monikers, stage names, pen names, aliases and other adopted (or commonly applied) nicknames or professional names. A moniker (or " monicker " is a Slang expression for a Nickname, Pseudonym, or Cognomen. A stage name, also called a screen name, is a Pseudonym used by Performers and Entertainers such as A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity A nickname is a Name of an entity or thing that is not its Proper name.
References
- ^ Powell, J. G. F. "A Note on the Use of the Praenomen " The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 34, No. 1. (1984), pp. 238-239.
See also
This list has been split into smaller lists List of nicknames of European royalty and nobility A List of nicknames of European royalty and nobility This is a list of Roman cognomina. A Abercius, Abito, Acacius, Acaunus, Achaicus, Acilianus By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a Name in Ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts ( triaDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic