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:''This page is about the Latin praenomen. For a list of prominent Romans with this name, see Gnaeus (disambiguation).'' Gnaeus (, , or ; ) is a Latin ''praenomen'', or personal name, which was common throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and well into imperial times. The feminine form is ''Gnaea''. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic ''gens Naevia''. The name was regularly abbreviated Cn., based on the archaic spelling, ''Cnaeus'', dating from the period before the letters "C" and "G" were differentiated.〔William Smith, ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities''〕〔''De Praenominibus'' (epitome by Julius Paris)〕〔Mika Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women'' (1994)〕 For most of Roman history, Gnaeus was one of the ten most common praenomina, being less common than ''Titus'', the sixth most common praenomen, and comparable in frequency to ''Aulus'', ''Spurius'', and ''Sextus''. Although the name was used by a minority of families at Rome, it was favored by a number of prominent ''gentes'', including the Cornelii, Domitii, Manlii, and Servilii. The name gradually became less common in imperial times.〔''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology''〕〔''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''〕 ==Origin and Meaning of the Name== According to Festus, the praenomen Gnaeus originally referred to a birthmark, which was ''naevus'' in classical Latin. This etymology is generally accepted by modern scholars. In his treatise on the origin of Roman praenomina, Chase cites the archaic spelling ''Gnaivos'' in support of this explanation. However, as with other praenomina, Gnaeus was generally chosen because it was a family name, not necessarily because the children who received it had a noteworthy birthmark.〔Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome by Paulus Diaconus〕〔George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)〕 Gnaeus was one of a number of Latin praenomina borrowed by the Etruscans, in whose language it became ''Cneve'' or ''Cneies''.〔Jacques Heurgon, ''Daily Life of the Etruscans'' (1964)〕〔''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gnaeus (praenomen)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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