NameType: type of named entity
| Values: | Ast | Cal | Com | Geo | Giv | Let | Lit | Met | Nat | Rel | Sur | Oth |
The type of a named entity is applied to (proper) nouns and adjectives to broadly describe the category this nominal element is referring to.
This feature is token-based and does not take into account nested entities or additional layers of reference: this means, for example, that there is no value for titles of literary works, since these are usually made up of common nouns or other kinds of named entities (but see Lit). Still, the lexical feature Proper can be used to distinguish such strings.
Ast: name of astronomical/astrological entity
Term used to refer to a planet, a star, a region in space (like a constellation)…
Examples
- Sol ‘sun’
- Aries ‘Ram’, sign of the zodiac (a common noun in its basic use)
- Antares, “the opponent of Mars”, a star also known as Cor Scorpii ‘heart of the scorpion’, from the constellation it appears to reside in
Cal: name of calendrical entity
Term used to refer to one of many quantitative or qualitative subdivisions of time, such as, among others, months.
In Latin, months are originally adjectives, some of which derived by other names, but later they show a tendency to be reanalyzed as independent nouns.
Examples
- Kalendae ‘Calends’, first day of a month
- Ianuarius (mensis) ‘January’ (lit. “the month of Janus”, the god); Aprilis (mensis) ‘April’ (from aperio ‘to open’)
Com: name of organised entity (“company”)
Name of any entity formed by human social activities: a group, a company, a society, a political party… Either a proper name, or a common name used antonomastically.
Examples
- Respublica, when a specific republic is intended (like the Roman one)
- Ecclesia, when a specific religious organisation is intended (like the Catholic Church)
Geo: name of geographical entity
Name of any geographical entity: a city, a country, a mountain, a sea… also used for mythical or legendary places.
Also used for adjectives which refer to geographical (real or mythical) features rather than to dwellers of those (it has to be said that the distinction with respect to Nat may be blurry at times).
Examples
- Roma
- Padus, the Po river in Northern Italy
- Atlantis, the mythical island described by Plato
- hadriaticus, of/relative to the Adriatic sea (adjective: Hadriaticum mare)
Giv: given name of person
The personal name(s), or the praenomen ‘first name’, the actual individual name of a person, distinct from the name of a gens, the “clan”, and the cognomen, a surname or nickname (see Sur). Many persons appear in history just with a given name.
This value is also used for names of legendary mortals or beasts, but not for gods, demigods, and the like (see Rel). It is not used for epithets (for which the feature Proper is more fitting).
It is also used for adjectives referring to personal names.
Examples
- Marcella, Gaius
- Decimus, Septimia (names derived from adjectives: ‘tenth (son)’, ‘seventh (daughter)’)
- Tachipertus, Ursula (Langobard names)
- Rhea Silvia, Romulus, Aeneas, Dido (legendary figures)
- Antinoeus ‘of/related to Antinous’ (adjective)
Let: name of letter or character
The name used to refer to a letter of the alphabet or any other literal character. It might coincide with the letter itself. The letter might be used as a variable or placeholder in mathematical or abstract formulations.
Examples
- A, B, C… (Latin letters)
- alpha, beta, gamma… (Greek letters)
Lit: name of literary work
Specific name for a literary work, different from the title of a book or similar, which often is a phrase consisting of common terms.
Examples
- Aeneis, the Aeneid, the poem by Virgil
- Vulgata, the Latin translation of the Bible (actually a participle from vulgata editio ‘popularised edition’)
Met: name of meteorological entity
Specific name given to an entity related with meteorological, atmospheric or similar events, such as winds.
Examples
- Auster, the south wind (from which australis ‘southern’ is derived)
- Eurus, the (south-)east wind
Nat: designation of nationality
Term which indicates some kind of national or ethnic membership, possibly defined by ancestry, or inhabitants of a particular territory, city, or similar.
In Latin, it is very often an adjective, which can be used for persons and inanimated entites alike, and can be substantivised.
Examples
- romanus (m.; f. romana, n. romanum) ‘of/related to Rome’; aquileiensis (m./f.; n. aquileiense) ‘of/related to Aquileia’; ravennàs (gen. ravennatis) ‘of/related to Ravenna’ (all adjectives)
- saxo (gen. saxŏnis) ‘Saxon’ (masculine noun, with corresponding adjective saxonicus)
Rel: name of religious or mythical entity
Name or term used to refer to any non-mortal and/or numinous being of a religion, mythology, legend.
Mortal beings “regularly” receive the feature Giv instead.
It can also be assigned to adjectives, if they e.g. directly refer to a deity.
Examples
- Deus ‘God’, intended as the Christian god
- Proserpina, Saturnus, Roman gods
- Helius, Greek divinity, a Titan identified with the Sun
- Hercules, demigod
- saturnius ‘belonging to Saturn (the god)’ (adjective)
Sur: surname / family name of person
Any name of person different from the first, given name, and used to identify that person, but usually assigned to a larger group of people.
In Classical Rome, names (morphologically adjectives) for the gentes, the “clans”, and cognomina, surnames or nicknames (many coming from common nouns), were in use. Many nomina gentilicia became full-fledged praenomina later on.
Other epithets are treated by means of the feature Proper.
Examples
- Iulius ‘of the gens Iulia’; Quinctilius ‘of the gens Quinctilia’ (nomina)
- Brutus ‘dull’; Naso ‘large-nosed’ (cognomina)
- Alagherius (Latinised Medieval Italian surname, today Alighieri )
Oth: other
Names of other entities not covered by the existing features, such as buildings, events, and so on.
Examples
- Colosseum, originally named Amphitheatrum Flavium
NameType in other languages: [cs] [hy] [ka] [la] [mdf] [myv] [orv] [ru] [u]