Gaius

Latin

Alternative forms

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

Etymology

For Gāvius, from Proto-Indo-European *geh₂w- (“to rejoice”). Cognate with gaudeō, gaudium. Cognate with Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌄 (cae).

Pronunciation

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

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡa.i.us/, [ˈɡäːius]
(Late Latin, common variant) IPA^(key): /ˈɡai̯.i̯us/, [ˈɡäi̯ːʊs̠]

Proper noun

Gāius m (genitive Gāiī or Gāī, feminine Gāia); 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.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

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

→ German: Gajus
→ Ancient Greek: Γάϊος (Gáïos)
→ Coptic: ⲅⲁⲓⲟⲥ (gaios)
→ Etruscan: 𐌂𐌀𐌉𐌄 (caie)
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