Scaevinia gens


The gens Scaevinia, sometimes written Scaevina, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are not mentioned in ancient writers, but several are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen Scaevinius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -inius, typically derived from cognomina ending in -inus. The root of the name is probably Scaevinus, although -inius came to be regarded as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and might have been applied directly to Scaevius, an existing gentile name. The nomen Scaevilius seems to have arisen in the same manner. All of these are ultimately derived from the cognomen Scaeva, originally referring to someone left-handed, or by extension someone strongly affected by fate, whether for good or ill.

Branches and cognomina

Of the cognomina borne by the Scaevinii, Capito originally described someone with a large or prominent head, while Quadratus, literally "square" might describe someone stocky, or particularly angular. Proculus, of which Procilla is a diminutive, was an old Roman praenomen that later became a surname. It was usually explained as a name given to a child born while his father was abroad, but might perhaps have been a diminutive of Proca, a name known from Roman myth, possibly referring to a suitor, or from procer, a prince or leader.

Members