Gaius

Latin

Alternative forms

(praenominal abbreviation): C., G. (less frequently)
(archaic or hypercorrect): Cāius, Cājus
Gājus

Etymology

For Gāvius, from Proto-Indo-European *geh₂u- (“to rejoice”). Cognate with gaudeō, gaudium.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaː.i.us/, [ˈɡaː.i.ʊs]

Proper noun

Gāius m (genitive Gāiī); 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.
1. Gaius (an eminent jurist who lived in the second century A.D.)
2. Caligula, the emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Usage notes

1876, "C" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, page 616:
The symbol [C] retained its old value [/ɡ/] only when as the initial letter it represented the names Gaius and Gnæus, which, in consequence, are often erroneously written and sounded Caius and Cnæus.

Inflection

Second declension.

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

Gāia f (praenomen)
Gāiānus (“of, pertaining to Caligula”, adjective)
Gāīpor (“male slave of Gaius”)

Descendants

Ancient Greek: Γάϊος (Gáïos)
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

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