Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • Emperor of Rome (AD 14–37). Chosen by Augustus as his successor, he generally followed Augustus's policies. He retired in his later years to Capri (26), from where he ordered the assassination of his adviser Sejanus (31).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A male given name of mostly historical use, in particular, the praenomen of the second Roman emperor Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, reigning 14-37 CE.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun son-in-law of Augustus who became a suspicious tyrannical Emperor of Rome after a brilliant military career (42 BC to AD 37)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin Tiberius, literally 'Of the Tiber', from Tiberis, the river Tiber. Also note Faliscan equivalent *Tiferios. The name is mistaken by some to be of Etruscan origin but note the borrowed variants, Thefarie (from Faliscan) and Teperi (from Latin).

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Examples

  • At the triumphal procession through the streets of Rome that followed in 44, Messalina was permitted to follow her husband’s chariot in a mule-drawn carpentum, ahead of the victorious generals from the campaign, and the couple’s son, hitherto known by the name Tiberius Claudius Caesar Germanicus, received the new sobriquet Britannicus in recognition of his father’s great victory.

    Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

  • My sense of Tiberius is that he was a bad emperor for the Roman elites in the capital, to whom he was a capricious, paranoid tyrant.

    Matthew Yglesias » What Would The Roman Empire Do? 2009

  • He was too mad to be aware of the pain, and he continued to chant: "Tiberius is emperor; there is no king!"

    Chapter 17 2010

  • Close before me, as I leaned against the wall, a mangy, bearded, long-haired fanatic sprang up and down unceasingly, and unceasingly chanted: Tiberius is emperor; there is no king!

    Chapter 17 2010

  • My sense of Tiberius is that he was a bad emperor for the Roman elites in the capital, to whom he was a capricious, paranoid tyrant.

    Matthew Yglesias » What Would The Roman Empire Do? 2009

  • Close before me, as I leaned against the wall, a mangy, bearded, long-haired fanatic sprang up and down unceasingly, and unceasingly chanted: Tiberius is emperor; there is no king!

    Chapter 17 1915

  • He was too mad to be aware of the pain, and he continued to chant: "Tiberius is emperor; there is no king!"

    Chapter 17 1915

  • The name Tiberius, I hope, will keep, howe'er he hath foregone The dignity and power.

    Literary Remains, Volume 2 Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1803

  • There was a law made by the Roman senate, in Tiberius's time, perhaps upon complaint of this and the like precipitation, that the execution of criminals should be deferred at least ten days after sentence.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John) 1721

  • Quibbles about performance and lighting aside, “Roma Sub Rosa’s” peek into the final moments of Tiberius is not an entirely unworthy way to spend twenty-eight minutes.

    Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies - Film Threat 2009

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