Germanus
See also: germanus and ģermāņus
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 have been put forward, such as that it derives from a Celtic/Gaulish word[1] meaning "neighbor" (compare Old Irish gair (“neighbor”))[2] or "noisy" (compare Old Irish garim (“shout; loud cry”)),[2] or is related to Old High German gēr (“spear”);[2] it may have originally been the name of a particular tribe.[2] It is not to be confused with 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/, [ɡɛrˈmaː.nʊs]
Noun
Germānus m (genitive Germānī); second declension
- a person from a Germanic people
Inflection
Second declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Germānus | Germānī |
| Genitive | Germānī | Germānōrum |
| Dative | Germānō | Germānīs |
| Accusative | Germānum | Germānōs |
| Ablative | Germānō | Germānīs |
| Vocative | Germāne | Germānī |
Derived terms
- germānicus
- Germānia
Descendants
- Dutch: Germaan
- English: German
- Greek: Γερμανός (Germanós)
- Italian: germano
- Portuguese: germano
- Romanian: german
- Spanish: germano
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."