Gnaeus

Etymology
Probably the same word as, as first proposed by Festus and commonly accepted by modern scholars. Chase cites the archaic spelling Gnaivos in support of this explanation.

Pronunciation

 * Note: the word is scanned with the first heavy syllable in its only two occurrences in verse by Terentianus Maurus. It's unclear whether this was the only pronunciation and what unspelled glide filled the hiatus after the diphthong, but it's etymologically likely that it was /w/ - spelling double VV as single was a common practice.
 * Note: the word is scanned with the first heavy syllable in its only two occurrences in verse by Terentianus Maurus. It's unclear whether this was the only pronunciation and what unspelled glide filled the hiatus after the diphthong, but it's etymologically likely that it was /w/ - spelling double VV as single was a common practice.
 * Note: the word is scanned with the first heavy syllable in its only two occurrences in verse by Terentianus Maurus. It's unclear whether this was the only pronunciation and what unspelled glide filled the hiatus after the diphthong, but it's etymologically likely that it was /w/ - spelling double VV as single was a common practice.

Usage notes

 * 1876, "C" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, page 616:
 * The symbol [C] retained its old value [/g/] only when as the initial letter it represented the names Gaius and Gnæus, which, in consequence, are often erroneously written and sounded Caius and Cnæus.