Chapter XCII: Section II: Augustus

Augustus is the agnomen conferred by the senate upon the second Cæsar, meaning reverend or set apart, and was selected as hedging him with majesty, though not offending the citizens with the word king. It is closely related to _avigur_ or _augur_, which the Romans said was “_ob avium garritus_” because the augur divined by the chatter of birds; while others make it come from _augeo_ (to increase); but it is not impossible that it may be related to the Teuton _æge_ (awe). At Rome, after Diocletian, the Augustus was always the reigning emperor, the Augusta was his wife; and no one presumed to take the name till the unfortunate Romulus Augustus, called Augustulus in contempt, who ended both the independence of Rome and the empire with the names of their founders.

┌───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┐
│ English. │ French. │ German. │ Lett. │
│Augustus │Auguste │August │Aujusts │
│Gussy │ │ │Justs │
│ │ │ ———————— │ ———————— │
│ │ │ Russian. │ Hungarian. │
│ │ │Avgust │Agoston │
├───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┤
│ FEMININE. │
├───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┤
│ English. │ German │ Italian. │ Lusatian. │
│Augusta │Auguste │Augusta │Avgusta │
│Gussie │Asta │ │Gusta │
│ │Guste │ │Gustylka │
│ │Gustel │ │ │
└───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┘

The Welsh formed the name of Awst from Augustus; but it does not seem to have been elsewhere used, except as an epithet which the flattering chroniclers bestowed upon Philippe III. of France, until about the middle of the sixteenth century, a fancy seized the small German princes of christening their children by this imperial title. August of Anhalt Plotzgau appears in 1575—seven years earlier, August of Braunsweig Luneburg. Then August of Wolfenbüttel names his daughter Anne Augusta; and we all recollect the Elector Johann August of Saxony, memorable as the prisoner of Charles V. Thenceforth these names flourished in Germany, and took up their abode in England with the Hanoverian race.

The diminutive had, however, been adopted under the Roman empire in later times, and was borne by the great Father Augustinus of Hippo, and his namesake, the missionary of the Saxons. This was chosen by a Danish bishop as a Latinization of his proper name of Eystein (island stone); and it has always been somewhat popular, probably owing to the order of Augustin or Austin Friars, instituted in honour of the first St. Augustin, and once the greatest sheep owners in England. S

┌───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┐
│ English. │ French. │ German. │ Spanish. │
│Augustin │Augustin │Augustin │Augustino │
│Austin │ │ │ │
├───────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┤
│ Portuguese. │ Italian. │ Polish. │ │
│Agostinho │Aogostino │Agostin │ │
├───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┤
│ FEMININE. │
├───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┤
│ Irish. │ French. │ German. │ Italian. │
│Augusteen │Augustine │Augustine │Agostina │
│ │ │Stine │ ————————— │
│ │ │ │ Portuguese. │
│ │ │ │Agostinha │
└───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┘