Germanicus

Forms

Germānicus (feminine Germānica, neuter Germānicum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin Germānī (“the Germans”) + -icus¹.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Caesar uses it of the war against the Germans, “Germanico bello confecto”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant “of Germany or the Germans”, also of military forces stationed there;^[3] Livy writes of the German forests, Suetonius of learning the German language,^[3] and Pliny the Elder calls the Baltic mare Germanicum.^[3]

The senate granted the surname Germanicus to Nero Claudius Drusus and his descendants,^[3] above all his son Germanicus Julius Caesar, and later emperors bore it too;^[3] Martial even uses it as the name of a month.^[3] In Medieval Latin it meant “Germanic” (Aldhelm) and “German”, also as a noun.^[4] English took Germanic from it in the 1630s.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 50 BC – Caesar speaks of the German war.^[3][2]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid addresses a Caesar as Germanicus.^[3][2]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses mare Germanicum.^[3][2]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it as the name of a month.^[3][2]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm uses it of his own Germanic people.^[4][2]
• 1630s – English borrows it as Germanic.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or connected with Germany or the Germans;^[3][6] (of troops) based in Germany.^[3][6]
2. mare Germanicum: the Baltic Sea.^[3]
3. (Medieval Latin) Germanic;^[4][1] German.^[4][1]

Proper noun

1. A surname of Nero Claudius Drusus and his descendants, especially his son Germanicus Julius Caesar, and of later emperors.^[3]
2. The name of a month.^[3]

Usage notes

A separate, rare Medieval Latin germanicus meant “brotherly”, from germānus “brother”.^[7][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften