gentilicial

English

Etymology

From Latin gentīlicius +‎ -al.

Adjective

gentilicial (comparative more gentilicial, superlative most gentilicial)

1. Indicative of the family or lineage.
   • 1724, John Guillim, “The Introduction”, in A Display of Heraldry, the sixth edition, London: […] T. W. For R. and J. Bonwicke and R. Wilkin, […]. And J. Walthoe and Tho. Ward, […], page 4:

     Ingua was the Hereditary Name of the Kings Romans of Peru, and their Gentilicial Arms a Rainbow and Two Snakes;

   • 1855, “Memoir on two large Medallion Busts which are preserved in the Manuscript Room of the Library of Trinity College, Dublin; as also on two inedited Patmian Inscriptions extracted from the Collection formed by the Author during his Travels through Anatolia and the neighbouring Islands of the Archipelago, in the Years 1840 and 1841. By James Kennedy Bailie, […].”, in The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, volume XXII, part II (Polite Literature), Dublin: […] M. H. Gill, section I, page 89:

     It is true, that in point of fact, the difference between these gentilicial names was more apparent than real;

   • 2016, Jeremy Armstrong, “Rome in the sixth century”, in War and Society in Early Rome: From Warlords to Generals, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 55:

     Although lacking the tight kinship focus evident in the gentilicial organization of the aristocracy, the settled population did still maintain internal divisions, as evidenced by the curiate system in Rome.

Synonyms

• gentilician
• gentilicious
• gentilitial
• gentilitian
• gentilitious

Noun

gentilicial (plural gentilicials)

1. A name or symbol that identifies a family or lineage.
   • 1977, Lawrence Richardson, Jr., “Introduction”, in Propertius: Elegies, I–IV, Norman, Okla.: the University of Oklahoma Press in cooperation with the American Philological Association, published 2006, →ISBN, section I (General Considerations: Propertius and Roman Elegy), page 6:

     But Aurelius is a gentilicial name, like Propertius, and such duplication of gentilicials would be most extraordinary at this period.

   • 2007, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, page 157:

     However, the letter is more likely to be a gamma, and since both Gillius and Tillius are known gentilicials, the name is probably Gilvius.

   • 2020, Frida Occelli, Simon Luca Trigona, “Vado Ligure Bay (Liguria, Italy)—Dredging Through the Long Life of an Ancient Harbour”, in Jennifer A. Rodrigues, Arianna Traviglia, editors, IKUWA6. Shared Heritage: Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress for Underwater Archaeology: 28 November–2 December 2016, Western Australian Maritime Museum Fremantle, Western Australia, Archaeopress, page 587:

     Apart from Domitiani on the Ibiza amphora, we have other two probable gentilicials.

Synonyms

• gentilician
• gentilitial