Meaning

(historical) An Ancient Roman given name..

Definitions by Sense

1. (historical) An Ancient Roman given name.
2. (historical) The throne name of a pharaoh, the fourth of the five names of the royal titulary, traditionally encircled by a cartouche and preceded by the title nswt-bjtj.
3. (zoology) The genus name in a binomial scientific name.

Example Sentences

Julius Caesar's praenomen was Gaius.

The Romans evolved a quite different system of nomenclature, which in its classical form consisted of three names, the praenomen (e.g. Marcus), nomen (e.g. Tullius), and cognomen (e.g. Cicero), and two other designations (the name of the father and of the tribe): […]

Tutankhamun's praenomen or throne name was Nebkheperrure, "Lord of the forms of Ra".

The old explanation was that the Greeks applied the name [λαβύρινθος (labúrinthos)] to it [the Temple of Hawara] because the prenomen or "throne-name" of its builder, Amenemhat III., would have been pronounced *Nemarîᵉ, and, by a usual interchange of n with l, transliterated into Greek as Labaris or Lamaris.

In the name Tyrannosaurus rex, "Tyrannosaurus" is the praenomen.

Word Forms

• praenomens
• praenomina
• prænomen
• prenomen

Related Words

When Should You Use Praenomen?

Use praenomen when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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