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Terentius

Terentius is a Latin gentile nomen used in ancient Rome. It denotes membership in the gens Terentia, with the feminine form Terentia. As a nomen, it identified a person’s clan rather than a personal name and would be used in combination with a praenomen and sometimes a cognomen.

The most famous bearer of the name is Publius Terentius Afer, known in English as Terence. He

In Roman naming practices, Terentius would be the masculine form of the gens name, while Terentia would

was
a
Roman
playwright
who
flourished
in
the
early
2nd
century
BCE
and
is
traditionally
dated
to
around
195–159
BCE.
According
to
historical
tradition,
he
was
born
in
Carthage
and
brought
to
Rome
as
a
slave,
later
being
freed
and
educated.
Terence
wrote
several
comedies
that,
through
refined
Latin
style
and
clear
treatment
of
moral
and
social
themes,
had
a
lasting
influence
on
Latin
literature
and
on
the
development
of
European
drama.
be
the
feminine
form
for
women
of
the
same
lineage.
The
name
is
primarily
of
historical
interest
today,
referenced
in
studies
of
Roman
onomastics
and
inscriptions.
In
modern
usage,
Terentius
is
rare
as
a
given
name
or
surname,
though
it
may
appear
in
historical
references,
scholarly
works,
or
fictional
contexts
that
seek
to
evoke
ancient
Rome.