The gens Terentia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Dionysius mentions a Gaius Terentius Arsa, tribune of the plebs in 462 BC, but Livy calls him Terentilius, and from inscriptions this would seem to be a separate gens. No other Terentii appear in history until the time of the Second Punic War. Gaius Terentius Varro, one of the Roman commanders at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, was the first to hold the consulship. Members of this family are found as late as the third century AD.

Origin

The antiquarian Varro derived the nomen Terentius from a Sabine word, terenus, meaning "soft". However, Chase suggests a Latin origin, from terens, one who grinds or threshes, and classifies the name among those gentilicia which either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.

Praenomina

The chief praenomina of the Terentii were Marcus, Gaius, Aulus, and Publius, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. The Culleones used Quintus, and other names occur occasionally.

Branches and cognomina

The main families of the Terentii used the cognomina Culleo, Lucanus, and Varro. Of these, Varro seems to be derived from the same root as the Latin baro, a fool; Culleo refers to a leather sack or pouch, and may have referred to a leatherworker; while Lucanus signified an inhabitant of Lucania, and must have been given to one of the Terentii who either came from or perhaps had some connection with that region, or its people.

Members

Terentii Varrones

Terentii Culleones

Terentii Lucani

Others

Footnotes