Marcus Junius Brutus

1 9.9

A Roman leader who helped kill Julius Caesar

proper noun

: Marco Junio Bruto

Shakespeare's play portrays Marcus Junius Brutus as a conflicted and honorable figure.

Examples

The actions of Marcus Junius Brutus dramatically changed the course of Roman history.
Did Marcus Junius Brutus betray Julius Caesar?
Many historians debate the motivations of Marcus Junius Brutus in joining the plot against Caesar.
He was Marcus Junius Brutus!
Many historians debate the motivations of Marcus Junius Brutus in joining the plot against Caesar.
Shakespeare's play portrays Marcus Junius Brutus as a conflicted and honorable figure.
The actions of Marcus Junius Brutus dramatically changed the course of Roman history.

Synonyms

Brutus

vsMarcus Junius Brutus

29 7.9

A Roman politician who led the plot to kill Julius Caesar

is the fuller formal name rather than the short familiar form

Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger

vsMarcus Junius Brutus

8.9

A Roman politician who helped plan and take part in killing Julius Caesar

is the standard name without the generational label

Surface Forms

Marcus Junius Brutus main

Morphology

Marcus + Junius + Brutus

This item is a full proper name referring to a specific historical person; the biographical meaning (Roman statesman, conspirator who helped kill Caesar) is not derivable from the individual name elements. Proper names function as arbitrary labels across languages, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent names would not be able to infer the referent or its historical role.

Etymology

Marcus Junius Brutus was a Roman leader who helped kill his friend Julius Caesar in a sudden attack, and Shakespeare's line 'Et tu, Brute?' shows the shock of that moment. That's why the name Marcus Junius Brutus now often stands for 'betrayal', the idea of a trusted person turning against you.