Gaius
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
For Gāvius, from Proto-Indo-European *geh₂w- (“to rejoice”). Cognate with gaudeō, gaudium. Cognate with Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌄 (cae).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈɡaː.i.us/, [ˈɡäːiʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈɡa.i.us/, [ˈɡäːius]
- (Late Latin, common variant) IPA(key): /ˈɡai̯.i̯us/, [ˈɡäi̯ːʊs̠]
Proper noun
Gāius m (genitive Gāiī or Gāī, feminine Gāia); second declension
- A masculine praenomen, in particular:
- Qui totus servatus est in Gaiorum et Quintorum laterculis.source
- Which was kept in its entirety on the registers of Gaiuses and Quintuses.
Usage notes
- 1876, "C" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, page 616:
Declension
Second-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | Gāius | Gāī |
Genitive | Gāiī Gāī1 |
Gāiōrum |
Dative | Gāiō | Gāīs |
Accusative | Gāium | Gāiōs |
Ablative | Gāiō | Gāīs |
Vocative | Gāī | Gāī |
1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).
The noun Gāius possesses several irregularly syncopated forms in the nominative, dative, ablative, and vocative plural.
Derived terms
Descendants
- → German: Gajus
- → Ancient Greek: Γάϊος (Gáïos)
- → Coptic: ⲅⲁⲓⲟⲥ (gaios)
- → Etruscan: 𐌂𐌀𐌉𐌄 (caie)
- Italian: Caio
- Portuguese: Gaio, Caio
- Russian: Гай (Gaj) (possibly)
- Spanish: Gayo
References
- “Gaius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Gaius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.