English
agnomen
Agnomen comes from Latin agnōmen ‘a surname or additional name relating to a…’, and goes back to Hittite ḫannaⁱ- ‘to sue, judge’.
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-1transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥2‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥2‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmen2
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagnōmen2‘a surname or additional name relating to a specific achievement, characteristic or trait’
- Englishtodayagnomen2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
- 2 Wiktionary, English agnomen
Lineage
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥Wiktionary, English agnomen‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥Wiktionary, English agnomen‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmenWiktionary, English agnomen
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagnōmenWiktionary, English agnomen‘a surname or additional name relating to a specific achievement, characteristic or trait’
- EnglishtodayagnomenWiktionary, English agnomen
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
name, anonymity, pseudonym, 30 more
through Latin nōmen
nomination, noun, allocate, nominate, nominal, renown, nominative, misnomer, ignominious, ignominy, 19 more
Today it means
noun An additional cognomen given, as an honour, to a Roman citizen.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “agnomen”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Hittite ḫannaⁱ- / agnomen