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 now deemed improbable have been put forward, such as:

being from a Celtic/Gaulish word^[1] meaning "neighbor", from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“short”) (whence Irish gair (“neighbor”, literally “nearby”))^[2]
or being from a Celtic/Gaulish word meaning "noisy", from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“to shout”) (whence Proto-Celtic *garman, Latin garriō),^[2]
or being related to Old High German gēr (“spear”), from Proto-Germanic *gaizaz;.^[2]

It may have originally been the name of a particular tribe.^[2]

Note: it is not to be confused with the word germānus (“of brothers or sisters”), which derives from germen (“sprout, bud”) and is thought to be unrelated.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ɡerˈmaː.nus/, [ɡɛrˈmäːnʊs̠]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒerˈma.nus/, [d͡ʒerˈmäːnus]
Homophone: germānus

Adjective

Germānus (feminine Germāna, neuter Germānum); first/second-declension adjective

Germanic

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Number	Singular			Plural
Nominative	Germānus	Germāna	Germānum	Germānī	Germānae	Germāna
Genitive	Germānī	Germānae	Germānī	Germānōrum	Germānārum	Germānōrum
Dative	Germānō	Germānae	Germānō	Germānīs
Accusative	Germānum	Germānam	Germānum	Germānōs	Germānās	Germāna
Ablative	Germānō	Germānā	Germānō	Germānīs
Vocative	Germāne	Germāna	Germānum	Germānī	Germānae	Germāna

Noun

Germānus m (genitive Germānī); second declension

a Germanic person (male); member of a Germanic tribe

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	Germānus	Germānī
Genitive	Germānī	Germānōrum
Dative	Germānō	Germānīs
Accusative	Germānum	Germānōs
Ablative	Germānō	Germānīs
Vocative	Germāne	Germānī

Derived terms

Descendants

Albanian: gjerman
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.

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories (1991, →ISBN), page 194
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 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."

[MWH-1] 1.0 ^1.1 The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories (1991, →ISBN), page 194

[Weekley-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 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."

[1]

[2]