Etymologically
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cognomen

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kɔŋˈnoː.mɛn][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [koɲˈɲɔː.men][1]

Forms

cognōmen n (genitive cognōminis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from con- (“with”) and nōmen (“name”), with a /g/ taken over from cognōscō (“to recognize”), as in agnōmen.[2][3][1] The TLL notes that it was felt both as a derivative of ⟨cognōscō⟩ and as containing ⟨nōmen⟩, and Isidore says it is so called because it is joined to the gentile name.[4][5] De Vaan derives ⟨nōmen⟩ from Proto-Italic *nōmn̥ and Proto-Indo-European *h₃neh₃-mn̥ (“name”), cognate with Sanskrit नामन् (nā́man-, “name”), Ancient Greek ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”), Old Irish ainm (“name”) and Hittite lāman- (“name”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus;[3] the OLD's earliest example is the Lex repetundarum of 123/122 BC, which requires each juror's father, tribe and cognōmen to be stated.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It is the surname of a family or person, usually the third part of a citizen's name, after the praenōmen and the nōmen of the gens, and often taken from a personal feature;[2][7] Cicero uses it of Greeks and other foreigners.[2][7] It is also an extra title of a god or name of a thing, as Virgil's twin plagues “called the Dirae”, and a nickname, as Nepos' Aristides, “called the Just” for his integrity.[2][7]

Pliny the Elder uses it for the further name of a people or place and of a variety of plant or fruit, and Virgil for a name derived from someone, as the people named after Tiburtus.[2] English cognomen is recorded in 1754 for a distinguishing name and in 1809 for a surname.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus.[3][6]
  • 123/122 BC – the Lex repetundarum of a juror's surname.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the surnames of Greeks.[2][6]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos of Aristides “the Just”.[2][6]
  • 1754 – English cognomen.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A surname, family name; the third part of a Roman name.[2][7][1]
  2. An additional title (of a god or thing); a nickname.[2][1]
  3. A further name of a people, place or plant variety.[2]
  4. A name derived from someone.[2]

Word family

  • cognōmentum
  • cognōminis
  • cognōminō

Usage notes

Lewis and Short describe it as usually the third of a citizen's names, after the nōmen of the gens, sometimes followed by a fourth, the agnōmen.[7] Etymonline calls it the last of the three names by which a Roman was known.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com