cognomen

American  

[kog-noh-muhn] / kɒgˈnoʊ mən /

noun

plural

cognomens, cognomina

1. a surname.

2. any name, especially a nickname.

3. 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.”

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cognomen British  

/ kɒɡˈnəʊmɛn, -ˈnəʊ-, kɒɡˈnɒmɪnəl /

noun

1. (originally) an ancient Roman's third name or nickname, which later became his family name See also agnomen nomen praenomen

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Other Word Forms

• cognominal
  adjective
• cognominally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cognomen

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

Example Sentences

And people have continued to find it risibly apposite ever since - especially in conjunction with the equally commonplace cognomen, Will.

From BBC • Oct. 3, 2015

Retief Goosen - “Goose” Our second cognomen derived from a last name, which should rank it lower on the list.

From Golf Digest • Oct. 16, 2013

Its most evocative cognomen is The Porchcrawler—one unhyphenated word, with the crunch of consonants enhancing its cinematic imagery.

From Slate • Jul. 6, 2012

Other people were a little frightened by M. Ritz, even intimidated by his martial cognomen or his last name that sounded sharp and hard.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hence arose the story of his having been a pupil of Primaticcio, and taking from him his cognomen of Abate; when in fact he drew that title from his own family.

From The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. IV (of 6) from the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century by Lanzi, Luigi Antonio