praenomen Latin · revision 36951

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=116–27 BC, Varro|origins=la nōmen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [prae̯ˈnoː.mɛn]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [preˈnɔː.men]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''praenōmen''' ''n'' (genitive praenōminis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|prae-|nōmen|t1=before|t2=name]].^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)^(Wiktionary) The noun goes back to [[itc-pro|*nōm-n-]] and [[ine-pro|*h₃neh₃-mn]], although the reconstruction of the root is disputed.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Varro,^(de Vaan 2008) and the TLL finds it from the ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'', Cicero and Varro on.^(TLL) Varro explains that first names were set up for individual use, to tell apart the bearers of a family name.^(TLL)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was the personal name that stood before the name of the gens, usually abbreviated: in the name Marcus Tullius Cicero the first name is Marcus.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Cicero notes that a friend wrote to him familiarly without his first name,^(Lewis & Short 1879) Livy mentions a son whose first name was Marcus,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) and Horace mocks soft ears that delight in being called by their first name.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Festus says that women too were once called by first names, and a passage ascribed to Quintus Scaevola says that boys received a first name only when they put on the toga of manhood and girls only when they married.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Suetonius uses it for the title ''Imperator'' placed before an emperor's name,^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) and Varro in grammar for a noun that precedes another noun.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Medieval British writers used it for a title or a nickname; a grammar ascribed to Grosseteste says that it is given from an office, from a person's appearance or from an event.^(DMLBS) English borrowed it in 1706,^(Etymonline) and Italian has [[m|it|prenome]] from it.^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro explains the purpose of first names.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero mentions a letter written to him without his first name.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace mocks people pleased to be called by their first name.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it for the title ''Imperator''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1706 – English borrows ''praenomen''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(Ancient Rome)'' A [[m|en|first name]], the personal name standing before the [[nōmen]] (as Marcus, Gaius, Lucius).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|title]] placed before a name, especially ''Imperator''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A noun that precedes another noun.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A title or designation; a [[m|en|nickname]].^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[agnōmen]]

+ * [[cognōmen]]

+ * [[nōmen]]

+ * [[prōnōmen]]

+ * [[en|praenomen]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}