Etymology of the name of Julius Caesar
Encyclopedia
The name Caesar probably originated from a dialect of Latium
which did not share the rhotacism
of the Roman dialect. (That is, the s between vowels did not change to r.) Using the Latin
alphabet
as it existed in the day of Julius Caesar
(100 BC
– 44 BC
) (i.e., without lower case letters, "J", or "U"), Caesar's name is properly rendered GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR (the spelling CAIVS is also attested and is interchangeable with the more common GAIVS; however the letter C was used with its antique pronunciation of [g], as it was an adaptation of Greek gamma). It is often seen abbreviated to C. IVLIVS CAESAR. (The letterform Æ is a ligature
, which is often encountered in Latin inscriptions, where it was used to save space, and is nothing more than the letters "ae".) The leading vowels in each part of the name are long, and in Classical Latin, the whole name was pronounced ˈɡaːjus ˈjuːljus ˈkajsar, or, alternatively, with praenomen pronounced trisyllabically as ˈɡaːius. In Greek, during Caesar's time, his name was written Καίσαρ, which was pronounced more or less the same. The pronunciation of the first syllable is similar to that of the German word (Kaiser
), itself an early loanword
.
Roman nomenclature
is somewhat different from the modern English form. Gaius, Iulius, and Caesar
are Caesar's praenomen
, nomen
, and cognomen
, respectively. In modern usage, his full name might be something like "Gaius Iulius-Caesar", where 'Caesar' denoted him as a member of the 'Caesarian' family branch of the 'Iulian' clan, and 'Gaius' was his personal name
. Though contemporary writers sometimes referred to him as "Gaius Caesar" its usage was not the same as in the 21st century. His grand-nephew, Gaius Octavius, duly took the full name "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus" upon his posthumous adoption in 44 BC
, and the name became fused with the imperial
dignity; in this sense it is preserved in the German
and Bulgarian
words Kaiser
and Tsar
(sometimes spelled Czar), both of which refer to an emperor.
Compare the Hungarian, Slavic and Turkish words for "king", forms of kral, all adapted from Karl, the personal name of Charlemagne.
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
which did not share the rhotacism
Rhotacism
Rhotacism refers to several phenomena related to the usage of the consonant r :*the excessive or idiosyncratic use of the r;...
of the Roman dialect. (That is, the s between vowels did not change to r.) Using the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
as it existed in the day of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
(100 BC
100 BC
Year 100 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Flaccus...
– 44 BC
44 BC
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
) (i.e., without lower case letters, "J", or "U"), Caesar's name is properly rendered GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR (the spelling CAIVS is also attested and is interchangeable with the more common GAIVS; however the letter C was used with its antique pronunciation of [g], as it was an adaptation of Greek gamma). It is often seen abbreviated to C. IVLIVS CAESAR. (The letterform Æ is a ligature
Ligature (typography)
In writing and typography, a ligature occurs where two or more graphemes are joined as a single glyph. Ligatures usually replace consecutive characters sharing common components and are part of a more general class of glyphs called "contextual forms", where the specific shape of a letter depends on...
, which is often encountered in Latin inscriptions, where it was used to save space, and is nothing more than the letters "ae".) The leading vowels in each part of the name are long, and in Classical Latin, the whole name was pronounced ˈɡaːjus ˈjuːljus ˈkajsar, or, alternatively, with praenomen pronounced trisyllabically as ˈɡaːius. In Greek, during Caesar's time, his name was written Καίσαρ, which was pronounced more or less the same. The pronunciation of the first syllable is similar to that of the German word (Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
), itself an early loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
.
Roman nomenclature
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
is somewhat different from the modern English form. Gaius, Iulius, and Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
are Caesar's praenomen
Praenomen
The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...
, nomen
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
, and cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
, respectively. In modern usage, his full name might be something like "Gaius Iulius-Caesar", where 'Caesar' denoted him as a member of the 'Caesarian' family branch of the 'Iulian' clan, and 'Gaius' was his personal name
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
. Though contemporary writers sometimes referred to him as "Gaius Caesar" its usage was not the same as in the 21st century. His grand-nephew, Gaius Octavius, duly took the full name "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus" upon his posthumous adoption in 44 BC
44 BC
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, and the name became fused with the imperial
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
dignity; in this sense it is preserved in the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
words Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
and Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
(sometimes spelled Czar), both of which refer to an emperor.
Compare the Hungarian, Slavic and Turkish words for "king", forms of kral, all adapted from Karl, the personal name of Charlemagne.
Meaning of "Caesar"
The original meaning of the name is unknown. The four most common derivations of the cognomen "Caesar" are given by the writer of the Historia Augusta (Aelius 2.3):- from caesaries, 'hair', because the founder of this branch of the family was born with a full head of hair. (Julius Caesar himself was balding in later life.) This is the etymology favored by FestusSextus Pompeius FestusSextus Pompeius Festus was a Roman grammarian, who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo in Gaul.He made an epitome in 20 volumes of the encyclopedic treatise in many volumes De verborum significatu, of Verrius Flaccus, a celebrated grammarian who flourished in the...
. - from caesius, an eye color variously translated today as 'grey', 'blue-grey', and even 'blue'. (Julius Caesar himself had black eyes, Suet. Jul. 45.)
- from caesum, 'cut out', because the first Caesar was cut from his mother's womb (see Caesarean sectionCaesarean sectionA Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
). This is the etymology favored by Pliny the ElderPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(VII.ix.47 — Latin, English). (Julius Caesar himself could not have been so delivered, because this dangerous operation was normally done only upon a dead woman, and his mother was known to have lived for many years after his birth.) - from caesai, a "Moorish" (maybe PunicPunic languageThe Punic language or Carthagian language is an extinct Semitic language formerly spoken in the Mediterranean region of North Africa and several Mediterranean islands, by people of the Punic culture.- Description :...
) word for "elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
" because the first Caesar had killed such a beast in battle. This is the etymology favored by Gaius Julius Caesar himself.