praenomen

American  

[pree-noh-muhn] / priˈnoʊ mən /

Or prenomen

noun

plural

praenomina, praenomens

1. the first or personal name of a Roman citizen, as “Gaius” in “Gaius Julius Caesar.”

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praenomen British  

/ priːˈnəʊmɛn, priːˈnɒmɪnəl /

noun

1. an ancient Roman's first or given name See also agnomen cognomen nomen

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Other Word Forms

• praenominal
  adjective
• praenominally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of praenomen

1655–65; < Latin praenōmen, equivalent to prae- prae- + nōmen name

Example Sentences

One editor of his De Consolatione, Bertius, thinks that he bore the praenomen of Flavius, but there is no authority for this supposition.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 1 "Bisharin" to "Bohea" by Various

The name of the month in which he was born was changed to Julius, from his praenomen, and we still retain the name.

From History of Julius Caesar by Abbott, Jacob

Hardy also states that Decimus is a common praenomen of the plebeian gens Iunia, and suggests that Juvenal may have got his praenomen from them.

From The Student's Companion to Latin Authors by Middleton, George

But the praenomen Q. is omitted in the best MSS., and in other passages of the same author the poet is spoken of as “Catullus Veronensis.”

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various

But the praenomen is wanting in the original, and the inscription may have been erected not by the satirist but by one of his kinsfolk.

From Post-Augustan Poetry From Seneca to Juvenal by Butler, Harold Edgeworth