Caesar
Meaning
- masculinea Roman cognomen of the gens Iulia, notably that of Gaius Iulius Caesar, subsequently used as an imperial title.
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Primus · Princeps · Imperator · Cæsar
1. Primus is the first, so far as, in space of time, he makes his appearance first, and others follow him; princeps, so far as he acts first, and others follow his example. (v. 344.) 2. Princeps means the Roman emperor, as holder of the highest civil power, which gradually devolved to him as princeps senatus; whereas imperator, as holder of the highest military power, inasmuch as, except him and the members of his family, no one had any longer a claim to the title of imperator; lastly, Cæsar means the Roman emperor, as a member, and from the time of Galba, as a mere successor, of the imperial family and dynasty.
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Caesar | Caesarēs |
| genitive | Caesaris | Caesarum |
| dative | Caesarī | Caesaribus |
| accusative | Caesarem | Caesarēs |
| ablative | Caesare | Caesaribus |
| vocative | Caesar | Caesarēs |
a caesarie dictus, qui scilicet cum caesarie natus est, Fest. p. 44; cf. Comment. p. 383. Both etymm. also in Isid. Orig. 9, 3, 12, and Spart. Ael. Ver. 2. Better acc. to Doed. Syn. III. p. 17, from caesius, caeruleus, the color of the skin; cf. Rufus], a cognomen in the gens Julia. Of these the most celebrated, C.Julius Caesar, distinguished as general, orator, statesman, and author, was assassinated by Brutus and Cassius, B.C. 44. After him all the emperors bore the name Caesar, with the title Augustus, until, under Adrian, this difference arose: Augustus designated the ruling emperor; Caesar, the heir to the throne, the crown-prince, etc., Spart. Ael. Ver. 1, § 2; Aur. Vict. Caes. 13, § 12.—celeritas, Cic. Att. 16, 10, 1 Orell. N.cr.—bellum civile, Nep. Att. 7, 1.— Hence, Caesărĭāni, ōrum, m., the adherents of Cœsar in the civil war (as Pompeiani, his opponents), Hirt. B. Afr. 13: orationes, orations of Cicero in which Cœsar was praised (pro Marcello, Deiotaro, De Provinciis Consularibus, etc.), Serv. ad Verg. G. 2, 131.—Pallas (esp. honored by Domitian), Mart. 8, 1.—Hence, subst. sanguis, Ov. M. 1, 201: Penates, id. ib. 15, 864: Vesta, id. ib. 15, 865: forum, founded by him, Stat. S. 1, 1, 85.—amphitheatrum, built by the emperor Domitian, Mart. Spect. 1, 7: leones, presented by Domitian in the fight of wild beasts, id. Epigr. 1, 7, 3.Origins
Unknown; the etymology was subject to many interpretations in antiquity, all of which remain doubtful. Among these are: * From a Punic word for “elephant”. This etymology was endorsed by Julius Caesar himself, thereby following the claims of his family that they inherited the cognomen from an ancestor, who had received the name after killing an elephant, possibly during the first Punic war. * From the phrase a caesiis oculis ("because of the blue eyes"): Caesar's eyes were black, but since the despotic dictator Sulla had had blue eyes, this interpretation might have been created as part of the anti-Caesarian propaganda in order to present Caesar as a tyrant. * From the phrase a caesariē ("because of the hair"): Since Caesar was balding, this interpretation might have been part of the anti-Caesarian mockery. * From the phrase a caeso matris utero ("born by Caesarean section"): In theory this might go back to an unknown Julian ancestor who was born in this way. On the other hand, it could also have been part of the anti-Caesarian propaganda. * From the verb caedō (“to cut”) (supine caesum), in the argument of the Julians for receiving a sodality of the Lupercalia. The praenomen Kaeso (or Caeso) was best known from the Quinctii and the Fabii, possibly derived from their ritual duty of striking with the goat-skin at the luperci Quinctiales and the luperci Fabiani.
- EnglishCaesar
- ItalianCesare
- EnglishCesarfrom Middle English Cesar
- FrenchCésarfrom Middle French Cæsar
- PortugueseCésarfrom Old Galician-Portuguese Cesar
- RomanianCezar
- SpanishCésar
- AlbanianÇezar
- Ancient GreekΚαῖσαρ
- Arabicقَيْصَر
- CatalanCèsar
- OccitanCesar
- Hebrew scriptקיסר
- Syriac scriptܩܣܪ