Germanus
Latin
Etymology
First used by Caesar and Tacitus to describe tribes as distinct from the Gauls and originally from the east of the Rhine. Of uncertain origin; several conjectures now deemed improbable have been put forward, such as:
- being from a Celtic/Gaulish word[1] meaning "neighbor", from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“short”) (whence Irish gair (“neighbor”, literally “nearby”))[2]
- or being from a Celtic/Gaulish word meaning "noisy", from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“to shout”) (whence Proto-Celtic *garman, Latin garriō),[2]
- or being related to Old High German gēr (“spear”), from Proto-Germanic *gaizaz;.[2]
It may have originally been the name of a particular tribe.[2]
It is not to be confused with the word germānus (“of brothers or sisters”), which derives from germen (“sprout, bud”) and is thought to be unrelated.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ɡerˈmaː.nus/, [ɡɛrˈmäːnʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /d͡ʒerˈma.nus/, [d͡ʒerˈmäːnus]
- Homophone: germānus
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | Germānus | Germāna | Germānum | Germānī | Germānae | Germāna | |
| Genitive | Germānī | Germānae | Germānī | Germānōrum | Germānārum | Germānōrum | |
| Dative | Germānō | Germānō | Germānīs | ||||
| Accusative | Germānum | Germānam | Germānum | Germānōs | Germānās | Germāna | |
| Ablative | Germānō | Germānā | Germānō | Germānīs | |||
| Vocative | Germāne | Germāna | Germānum | Germānī | Germānae | Germāna | |
Noun
Germānus m (genitive Germānī); second declension
- a Germanic person (male); member of a Germanic tribe
Declension
Second-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Germānus | Germānī |
| Genitive | Germānī | Germānōrum |
| Dative | Germānō | Germānīs |
| Accusative | Germānum | Germānōs |
| Ablative | Germānō | Germānīs |
| Vocative | Germāne | Germānī |
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “Germanus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Germanus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories (1991, →ISBN), page 194
- Ernest Weekley, An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, volume 1 (A-K) (2013, →ISBN), page 634: "Prob. orig. name of particular tribe. [...] Etymologies proposed for the name (e.g. Olr. gair, neighhour, gairm, war-cry, OHG. ger, spear) are pure conjectures."
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