Sobriquet

An epithet (Latin agnomen ) is an additional persons name that is added to a person in order to describe them in more detail.

In contrast to the nickname of the epithet is an official, an indispensable part of their name, this distinction is not made ​​in the literature is not anywhere in this sense, and in the Namensgutentwicklung the boundaries are often blurred. The name speaks for customer also for the medieval period (still unfixed ) nickname, which the respective wearer characterized ( appearance, career, character ) and the later often dry down to the family name.

The person designated by the Romans as a cognomen epithet about is the third part of the name of the regular Roman names ( tria nomina ).

Examples of indispensable name components

Examples of medieval epithets that are family names today

  • Hans Red: a jack with red hair or a Hans, whose ancestors had red hair (now family names Red, Roth, Rott, Rodt )
  • Hans Schmid: a Hans, who was a blacksmith or a blacksmith for ancestors had (now family names Schmid, Smith, Schmidt, Schmitt)
  • Hans Wüeterich: a Hans, who was prone to violent temper or such ancestors had (now family names Raver, Wüthrich, tyrant, tyrant )

Examples of Romans

  • Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica corculum
  • Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

Since cognomen and Agnomen are similar, it is often difficult to distinguish between them. The Agnomen has about taken over the function of the former cognomen, as this was hereditary. For this reason, the Agnomen placed behind the cognomen to allow further differentiation. When Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, for example, Scipio Africanus and is the cognomen the Agnomen. The Agnomen is in some writers referred to as " cognomen " (eg Paasch ), surnamed Africanus such as " cognomen ex virtute ". The corresponding dictionary entries, for example, speak at Georges for this view Paasch. You should also remember that the naming of the passage of time has greatly changed. As early as the 1st century BC came the praenomen as the name of disuse - brothers often resulted in the same praenomen. In imperial times, then the hergebrachte Roman name system largely disbanded and it came to the so-called Polyonymie, ie, individuals often wore several Praenomina, more gentile names and multiple Cognomina.

Städtebeinamen

Also, names of towns were in a time without an official country codes or ZIP codes nickname necessary to distinguish same name from each other can. Mulhouse / Mulhouse or Rotenburg / Rothenburg dive in the German language on several occasions, the City Name Neustadt is even several dozen times available. To distinguish between the cities from one another, they received toponyms as a nickname, with those related to additional naming of rivers ( Maribor ), Islands ( Burg auf Fehmarn ), country name ( Rotenburg in Hannover), mountain names ( Neustadt am Ruebenberge ) or landscape names (Worms in the Valtellina ), a distinction should be made possible. In addition, there have been political intentions Städtebeinamen (eg Wilhelm- Pieck -Stadt Guben, City of Dusseldorf ). Since a community legal order in the state of North Rhine -Westphalia in 2011, several cities gave advertising unintended nickname (eg City University of Hagen ).

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