Grammaticus

Grammaticus is a Latin term meaning a teacher of grammar or a grammar scholar. The word comes from Greek grammatikos, via Latin grammatica and gramma, and in classical usage it denotes a professional educator responsible for teaching grammar, literature, and related subjects in early schooling.

In ancient Rome and the broader Hellenistic world, grammatici were part of the standard framework of education. They taught boys to read and write, explained Latin grammar and syntax, and guided the study of poets and prose authors. Many grammatici were educated slaves or liberated slaves who had specialized training in philology, prosody, and textual interpretation. The position often functioned as a preparatory stage before students advanced to rhetoric and public life, and some grammatici also taught Greek language and literature.

The role persisted into late antiquity and continued into the medieval and early modern periods, where the title frequently denoted university and cathedral-school teachers of Latin grammar. Grammatici produced and commented on grammatical and textual works, contributing to the transmission and standardization of Latin language and literature. The term also appears in discussions of ancient grammarians as a social and professional class, sometimes collectively referred to as grammatici.

In modern usage, grammaticus is mainly of historical or philological interest. The English equivalents are grammar teacher or grammarian, with the modern term grammar dominating everyday speech. The Latin root remains visible in words such as grammar and grammatical, which reflect the long lineage of scholars who studied language, letters, and textual criticism.