Pontius

Latin

Etymology

From the gens name Pontii, of Samnite/Sabine origin, from Oscan 𐌐𐌏𐌍𐌕𐌖𐌔 (pontus), 𐌐𐌏𐌌𐌐𐌕𐌖𐌔 (pomptus), which by Oscan sound laws would be the equivalent of the Latin names Quintus, Quinctia, Quinctilia, all from Proto-Italic *kʷenkʷe (“five”). Or, from pons (“bridge”).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpon.ti.us/, [ˈpɔn̪t̪iʊs̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpon.t͡si.us/, [ˈpɔnt̪͡s̪ius]

Proper noun

Pontius m sg (genitive Pontiī or Pontī); second declension

a Roman nomen gentile, gens or "family name", famously held by:
1. Pontius Pilatus

Declension

Second-declension noun, singular only.

Case	Singular
Nominative	Pontius
Genitive	Pontiī Pontī¹
Dative	Pontiō
Accusative	Pontium
Ablative	Pontiō
Vocative	Pontī

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

Pontia

Descendants

Catalan: Ponç
French: Ponce
Italian: Ponzio
Occitan: Ponç
Vietnamese: Phongxiô (Catholic), Bôn-xơ (Protestant)

References

“Pontius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Pontius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII (1897), p. 127-129