cognomen

cog·no·men  (kg-nmn)

n. pl. cog·no·mens or cog·nom·i·na (-nm-n)

1.

a. A family name; a surname.

b. The third and usually last name of a citizen of ancient Rome, as Caesar in Gaius Julius Caesar.

2. A name, especially a descriptive nickname or epithet acquired through usage over a period of time.

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[Latin cognmen : co-, con-, co- (influenced by cognscere, to know) + nmen, name; see n-men- in Indo-European roots.]

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cog·nomi·nal (-nm-nl) adj.

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cognomen [kog-noh-men, -nom-min-a]

Noun

pl -nomens or -nomina Formal

1. a nickname

2. a surname

3. an ancient Roman's third name or nickname [Latin: additional name]

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cognomen

1. Ancient Rome. the third and usually last name in Roman personal names, as Caesar of Gaius Julius Caesar.
2. a surname or family name.
3. a nickname. — cognominal. adj.

See also: Names

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	cognomen - a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name); "Joe's mother would not use his nickname and always called him Joseph"; "Henry's nickname was Slim" byname, moniker, nickname, sobriquet, soubriquet appellation, appellative, designation, denomination - identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others
	2.	cognomen - the name used to identify the members of a family (as distinguished from each member's given name) family name, last name, surname name - a language unit by which a person or thing is known; "his name really is George Washington"; "those are two names for the same thing" maiden name - a woman's surname before marriage