Onomasia and nominatio in Egypt in the 3rd century AD

Abstract

From the beginning of the 3rd century AD onwards, the Latin term nominatio in the Digest and the Codices no longer referred solely to the nomination of candidates for office but also came to denote the actual election or appointment (creatio). In this study, I examine whether the same shift in meaning can be observed in 3rd-century AD Egypt about the Greek counterpart of nominatio, that is onomasia, whose original meaning also referred to the nomination of a candidate. Based on the relevant papyri, it appears that onomasia could – and did – refer to the entire electoral process, that is, the appointment.