proper noun · masculinefirst declension
Māmurra
Māmurra m sg (genitive Māmurrae)
Classical[maːˈmʊr.ra]Ecclesiastical[maˈmur.ra]
Meaning
- A Roman cognomen — famously held by
- Mamurra, a Roman commander born in Formiae
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Māmurra | — |
| genitive | Māmurrae | — |
| dative | Māmurrae | — |
| accusative | Māmurram | — |
| ablative | Māmurrā | — |
| vocative | Māmurra | — |
Māmurra, ae, m.,
I. a Roman knight of Formiæ, praefectus fabrūm in Gaul under Cæsar, who was the first in Rome to cover the walls of his house on the Mons Cœlius with marble, and had none but marble columns in his house, Plin. 36, 6, 7, § 48; cf. Cic. Att. 7, 7, 6; 13, 52, 1; Suet. Caes. 73; Cat. 29, 3:
Mamurrarum urbs, i. e. Formiæ, Hor. S. 1, 5, 37.Origins
Ultimately from the same source as Oscan 𐌌𐌀𐌌𐌄𐌓𐌕- (mamert-), Latin Mārs and Mārcus. Perhaps as a less Latinized form of Māmur(r)ius, a Latinization (via suffix replacement) of Etruscan 𐌌𐌀𐌌𐌖𐌓k𐌄𐌔 (mamurkes), an alternative form of 𐌌𐌀𐌌𐌀𐌓𐌂𐌄𐌔, 𐌌𐌀𐌌𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌄𐌔 (mamarces, mamerces); the latter borrowed unadapted as Māmercus. The /rj > rr/ is characteristic of Oscan; the varying treatment of /ar/ rather of Etruscan. The Etruscan name itself was a borrowing (likely from Oscan), possibly formed as *Māmart-ikos. For the suffix interchange, compare spurcus and spurius, also potential borrowings from Etruscan.