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Latin

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Probably the same word as naevus (birthmark, mole), as first proposed by Festus and commonly accepted by modern scholars. Chase cites the archaic spelling Gnaivos in support of this explanation.[1][2]

Pronunciation

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  • (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈɡnae̯.us/, [ˈŋnäe̯ʊs̠]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈɲe.us/, [ˈɲɛːus]
  • Note: the word is scanned with the first heavy syllable in its only two occurrences in verse by Terentianus Maurus. It's unclear whether this was the only pronunciation and what unspelled glide filled the hiatus after the diphthong, but it's etymologically likely that it was /w/ - spelling double VV as single was a common practice.

Proper noun

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Gnaeus m (genitive Gnaeī); second declension

  1. A masculine praenomen.

Usage notes

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Declension

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Second-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative Gnaeus Gnaeī
Genitive Gnaeī Gnaeōrum
Dative Gnaeō Gnaeīs
Accusative Gnaeum Gnaeōs
Ablative Gnaeō Gnaeīs
Vocative Gnaee Gnaeī

Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome by Paulus Diaconus
  2. ^ George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII (1897)(p. 153)
  3. ^ Jacques Heurgon, Daily Life of the Etruscans (1964)
  4. ^ Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft

Further reading

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  • Gnaeus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Gnaeus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Gnaeus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.