Augustus

[aw-guhs-tuh s, uh-guhs-] /ɔˈgʌs təs, əˈgʌs-/

noun

Also called Octavian (before 27 b.c.)(Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus; Augustus Caesar) 63 b.c.–a.d. 14, first Roman emperor 27 b.c.–a.d. 14: reformer, patron of arts and literature; heir and successor to Julius Caesar.

a title of office given to rulers of the Roman Republic after Octavianus.

a male given name.

Origin

< Latin: august, a title given to Octavian when he became emperor

British Dictionary definitions for Augustus

Augustus

/ɔːˈɡʌstəs/

noun

original name Gaius Octavianus; after his adoption by Julius Caesar (44 bc) known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. 63 bc–14 ad, Roman statesman, a member of the second triumvirate (43 bc). After defeating Mark Antony at Actium (31 bc), he became first emperor of Rome, adopting the title Augustus (27 bc)

Word Origin and History for Augustus

masc. proper name, from Latin augustus "venerable" (see august). The name originally was a cognomen applied to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus as emperor, with a sense something like "his majesty."

Augustus in the Bible

the cognomen of the first Roman emperor, C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, during whose reign Christ was born (Luke 2:1). His decree that "all the world should be taxed" was the divinely ordered occasion of Jesus' being born, according to prophecy (Micah 5:2), in Bethlehem. This name being simply a title meaning "majesty" or "venerable," first given to him by the senate (B.C. 27), was borne by succeeding emperors. Before his death (A.D. 14) he associated Tiberius with him in the empire (Luke 3:1), by whom he was succeeded.