Definition of praenomen in English:
praenomen
noun priːˈnəʊmɛnprēˈnōmən
An ancient Roman's first or personal name, for example Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Compare with nomen, cognomen, agnomen
Example sentencesExamples
- They seem to give the praenomen (personal name) Titus to the same man, and a Titus Petronius Niger is attested as consul on Herculaneum tablets.
- ‘Nothing…’ Nero lied, ignoring the use of his praenomen as a playful, boyishly immature slur.
- Lots of Marks around, here and in Western Europe and that makes sense - Marcus was a common Roman praenomen (essentially the equivalent of a first name), and the Romans had very few such common names.
- Bring back Gaius as a good Latin praenomen, say I.
Origin
Latin, from prae 'before' + nomen 'name'.