[25]
A really keen and intelligent teacher
will inquire into the origin of names derived from
physical characteristics, such as Rufus or Longus,
whenever their meaning is obscure, as in the case of
Sulla, Burrus, Galba, Plautus, Pansa, Scaurus and the
like; of names derived from accidents of birth such
as Agrippa, Opiter, Cordus and Postumus, and again of
names given after birth such as Vopiscus. Then there
are names such as Cotta, Scipio, Laenas or Seranus,1
which originated in various ways.
1 Sulla =? spindleshanks (surula). Burrus = red. Galba = caterpillar. Plautus = flat-footed. Pansa = splay-footed. Scaurus = with swollen ankles. Agrippa = born feet foremost. Opiter = one whose father died while his grandfather still lived. Cordus = late-born. Postumus = last-born, or born after the father's death. Vopiscus = a twin born alive after the premature birth and death of the other. Scipio = staff. Laenas from laena (cloak). Seranus = the sower. Cotta uncertain.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
The Annenberg CPB/Project provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.