Caeso or Kaeso () is a Latin ''

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bir ...

'', or

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is kno ...

, usually abbreviated K. Although never a common name, Caeso was regularly used by a number of prominent families, both patrician and plebeian, during the period of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. The feminine form is ''Caesula'' (also spelled ''Cesula'', ''Caesulla'', ''Caesilla'', and ''Caesillia''). The name also gave rise to the patronymic gens Caesonia. ''Kaeso'' is the older spelling, dating from the period when the letter K was still frequently used before the vowel A in Latin, and before the letters C and G were differentiated.''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology'' The praenomen Caeso was regularly used by the patrician gentes Fabia and Quinctia during the 1st centuries of the Republic, and also by the plebeian gentes Atilia and Duilia (both of which may originally have been patrician). It is also found in the gentes

Acilia Acilia is a neighborhood and a ''frazione'' of Rome, Italy, located about half- way between Rome and Ostia, along the Via Ostiense. With a population 66,932 in 2008 it is the third largest Italian ''frazione'' after Ostia and Mestre. History Th ...

, Fabricia, and

Latria Latria or latreia (also known as latreutical worship) is a theological term (Latin ''Latrīa'', from the Greek λατρεία, ''latreia'') used in Catholic theology and Eastern Orthodox theology to mean adoration, a reverence directed only t ...

, and must once have been used by the ancestors of the Caesonia gens. Its use gradually declined throughout Republican times, and seems to have fallen out of use around the first century AD.George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)

Origin and meaning

The most familiar etymology of this praenomen was given by

Gaius Plinius Secundus Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

, and followed by

Sextus Pompeius Festus Sextus Pompeius Festus, usually known simply as Festus, was a Roman grammarian who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo (Narbonne) in Gaul. Work He made a 20-volume epitome of Verrius Flaccus's voluminous and encyclop ...

, who derived it from the verb ''caedere'', "to cut," and explained that it was originally given to a child who was cut from the mother's womb, in the operation that came to be known as the

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or m ...

.Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome by

Paulus Diaconus Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...

This seems to be a reasonable etymology for the name of the operation, but it is probably an example of

false etymology A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...

with respect to the name Caeso, as well as the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

''Caesar'', which appears to derive from the same root. Marquardt and Mommsen, while still deriving the name from ''caedere'', speculated that Caeso was somehow connected with the lashings administered by the ''Luperci'', or "brotherhood of the wolf," a body of priests, during the festival of the ''

Lupercalia Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as ''dies Februatus'', after the purification instruments called ''februa'', the ...

''. As the ''Luperci'' ran about the ancient city wall, dressed in animal skins and carrying leather thongs, girls and young women would gather along the route to receive lashes, which were believed to promote fertility. However, the likeliest explanation derives the name from ''caesius,'' "blue-grey," a word frequently used to describe the color of the eyes. This etymology was given by Festus with respect to the feminine form, ''Caesula''. It was also one of four different explanations given for the cognomen ''Caesar'', which

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

believed to have originated as a praenomen. This opinion is accepted by Chase, in his treatise, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina."

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

, quoted in ''De Praenominibus'' (epitome by Julius Paris)

Notes

{{Praenomina Ancient Roman praenomina