cognomen

[ kog-noh-muhn ]
See synonyms for cognomen on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural cog·no·mens, cog·nom·i·na [kog-nom-uh-nuh]. /kɒgˈnɒm ə nə/.
  1. a surname.

  2. any name, especially a nickname.

  1. the third and commonly the last name of a citizen of ancient Rome, indicating the person's house or family, as “Caesar” in “Gaius Julius Caesar.”: Compare agnomen (def. 1).

Origin of cognomen

1
1800–10; <Latin, equivalent to co-co- + nōmen name, with -g- on model of nōscī: cognōscī;see cognition

Other words from cognomen

  • cog·nom·i·nal [kog-nom-uh-nuhl, -noh-muh-], /kɒgˈnɒm ə nəl, -ˈnoʊ mə-/, adjective
  • cog·nom·i·nal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby cognomen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cognomen in a sentence

  • The question has frequently been asked who was intended by the cognomen Saint Gris?

  • The survivor was named "Hoyle" (a cognomen for our old friend Hurley) and his doings gave us a new fund of entertainment.

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
  • By adopting the cognomen of Habrodiaitos, or high-liver, he brought upon himself the nickname of Rhabdodiaitos, or brush-man.

    History of Ancient Art | Franz von Reber
  • He has been called a Sphinx, and well deserves the cognomen, for no man shows less upon his face the emotions of his heart.

    Miss Caprice | St. George Rathborne
  • He writes under a slightly more suitable cognomen, but I have been unable, in our brief acquaintance, to drag it from him.

    Mavis of Green Hill | Faith Baldwin

British Dictionary definitions for cognomen

cognomen

/ (kɒɡˈnəʊmɛn) /


nounplural -nomens or -nomina (-ˈnɒmɪnə, -ˈnəʊ-)
  1. (originally) an ancient Roman's third name or nickname, which later became his family name: See also agnomen, nomen, praenomen

Origin of cognomen

1
C19: from Latin: additional name, from co- together + nōmen name; influenced in form by cognōscere to learn

Derived forms of cognomen

  • cognominal (kɒɡˈnɒmɪnəl, -ˈnəʊ-), adjective
  • cognominally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012