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Origin and history of cognomen

cognomen(n.)

1754, "a distinguishing name;" 1809, "a surname;" from Latin, from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + (g)nomen "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name"). The last of the three names by which a Roman citizen was known (Caius Julius Csar, Marcus Tullius Cicero).

also from 1754

Entries linking to cognomen

com-

word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.

Before vowels and aspirates, it is reduced to co-; before -g-, it is assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, and -v-, it is assimilated to con-, which was so frequent that it often was used as the normal form.

*no-men-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "name."

It might form all or part of: acronym; allonym; ananym; anonymous; antonomasia; antonym; binomial; caconym; cognomen; denominate; eponym; eponymous; heteronym; homonym; homonymous; hyponymy; ignominious; ignominy; innominable; Jerome; matronymic; metonymy; metronymic; misnomer; moniker; name; nomenclature; nominal; nominate; noun; onomastic; onomatopoeia; paronomasia; paronym; patronym; patronymic; praenomen; pronoun; pseudonym; renown; synonym; synonymy; synonymous; toponym.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit nama; Avestan nama; Greek onoma, onyma; Latin nomen; Old Church Slavonic ime, genitive imene; Russian imya; Old Irish ainm; Old Welsh anu "name;" Old English nama, noma, Old High German namo, Old Norse nafn, Gothic namo "name."

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    surname
    c. 1300, "additional name; a name, title, or epithet added to a person's baptismal or Christian name," from sur "above" (from Latin super-; see sur- (1)) + name (n.). The word is modeled or Englished from on Anglo-French surnoun "surname" (early 14c.), a variant of Old French sor
    nickname
    mid-15c., neke name, a misdivision of ekename (c. 1300), an eke name, "a familiar or diminutive name," especially one given in derision or reproach, literally "an additional name," from Old English eaca "an increase," related to eacian "to increase" (cognate with Old Norse auka-n
    moniker
    "person's name, especially a nickname or alias," 1849, said to be originally a hobo term (but monekeer is attested in London underclass from 1851), of uncertain origin; perhaps from monk (monks and nuns take new names with their vows, and early 19c. British tramps referred to the
    Ciceronian
    He often was known as Tully in early Modern English writers, Cicero being a cognomen of the genus Tullia....
    Crispin
    The name is Crispinus, a Roman cognomen, from Latin crispus "curly" (probably with reference to hair; see crisp (adj.))....
    kaiser
    Austrian spelling variant of of Middle High German keisar, from Old High German keisar "emperor," an early borrowing of Latin cognomen...
    Cincinnati
    His name is a cognomen in the gens Quinctia, meaning literally "with curly hair," from Latin cincinnus "curl, curly hair....
    name
    "word by which a person or thing is denoted," Old English nama, noma "name, reputation," from Proto-Germanic *naman- (source also of Old Saxon namo, Old Frisian nama, Old High German namo, German Name, Middle Dutch name, Dutch naam, Old Norse nafn, Gothic namo "name"), from PIE r
    mane
    "growth of long hair on the back of the neck and shoulders," characteristic of the horse, lion, and some other animals, Old English manu "mane of a horse," from Proto-Germanic *mano (source also of Old Norse mön, Old Frisian mana, Middle Dutch mane, Dutch manen, Old High German m
    amen
    Old English, from Late Latin amen, from Ecclesiastical Greek amen, from Hebrew amen "truth," used adverbially as an expression of agreement (as in Deuteronomy xxvii.26, I Kings i.36), from Semitic root a-m-n "to be trustworthy, confirm, support." Compare similar use of Modern Eng

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