proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Hortēnsius1
Hortēnsius m sg (genitive Hortēnsiī or Hortēnsī)
Classical[hɔrˈtẽː.si.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[orˈtɛn.si.us]
Meaning
- a Roman nomen gentile, gens or "family name" famously held by
- Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, a Roman orator
He is described as having spoken for nearly an hour with great confidence in a highly declamatory tone, and with studied action, impressing all present who had ever heard of Cicero or Hortensius with the belief that he had worked himself up into the notion of being one or both of them for the occasion.
1880, Henry James Nicoll, “Miscellaneous”, in Great Scholars. Buchanan, Bentley, Porson, Parr and Others., Edinburgh: Macniven & Wallace, page 204:
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Hortēnsius | — |
| genitive | Hortēnsiī Hortēnsī | — |
| dative | Hortēnsiō | — |
| accusative | Hortēnsium | — |
| ablative | Hortēnsiō | — |
| vocative | Hortēnsī | — |
Hortensĭus (HORTÉSIVS, Inscr. Fabr. p. 235, n. 619),
I. the name of a Roman gens; so,
in partic.: Q. Hortensius Hortalus, a celebrated orator in the time of Cicero, Cic. Brut. 88, 301 sq.; Quint. 11, 3, 8; 12, 11, 27; Gell. 1, 5, 2; Tac. A. 2, 37. After him is named the treatise of Cicero entitled Hortensius, of which fragments remain (Bait. XI. 55 sqq.).—Hortensĭa, ae, f., his daughter, also celebrated for her skill in oratory, Val. Max. 8, 3, 3; cf. Quint. 1, 1, 6.—II. Derivv.
A. Hortensĭus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to a Hortensius, Hortensian: lex, of the dictator Q. Hortensius, Gai. Inst. 1, 3; Dig. 1, 2, 2; cf. Plin. 16, 10, 15, § 37; Gell. 15, 27, 4.—Another lex Hortensia (ut nundinae essent fastae), perh. of the same Hortensius, Macr. S. 1, 16.—
B. Hortensĭānus, a, um, adj., Hortensian:
eloquentia, Val. Max. 8, 3, 3: quod me admones, ut scribam illa Hortensiana, i. e. the treatise entitled Hortensius, Cic. Att. 4, 6, 3: in aedibus Hortensianis, Suet. Aug. 72.Origins
Perhaps from the placename Horta + -ensis, meaning "man from Horta." Or, possibly related to hortēnsis (“garden-grown”). Compare Hortalus.