nam-que (also written nanque), cong., an emphatic confirmative particle, a strengthened nam, closely resembling that particle in its uses, but introducing the reason or explanation with more assurance; Gr. και γάρ, for indeed, for truly, for (class. and freq., only before a vowel, and in Cicero and Cæsar always, like nam, beginning the proposition; rarely before a consonant, and not in Cæs., Cic. Div. 1, 30, 62; id. de Or. 3, 2, 6; id. Tusc. 3, 20, 65; Nep. Them. 6, 2; id. Ages. 2, 1; Sall. J. 41, 5; 85, 35; Hirt. B. G. 8, 28, 4; Ant. ap. Cic. Phil. 13, 20, 45; Balb. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 13, A. 2; and freq. in Liv.; v. Krebs, Antibarb. p. 732 sq.): pol mihi fortuna magis nunc defit quam genus: namque regnum suppetebat mi, etc., Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 19, 44 (Trag. v. 395 Vahl.): namque ita me di ament, Plaut. Bacch. 1, 2, 3: in quo vix dicere audeo, quam multa saecula hominum teneantur. Namque ut olim deficere sol hominibus exstinguique visus est, etc., Cic. Rep. 6, 22, 24: namque illud quare, Scaevola, negāsti? etc., id. de Or. 1, 16, 71: namque hoc praestat amicitia propinquitati, etc., id. Lael. 5, 19: namque tum Thraces eas regiones tenebant, Nep. Milt. 1, 2; 8, 1; id. Them. 6, 2; id. Alc. 1, 2 al.: namque umeris suspenderat arcum, Verg. A. 1, 318; 390: namque etsi, etc., id. ib. 2, 583: namque est ille, pater quod erat meus, Hor. S. 1, 6, 41.
Poet., like nam, after an address. Aeole—namque tibi, etc., Verg. A. 1, 65: pleonastic, namque enim tu, credo, mi imprudenti obrepseris, Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 23 (Ritschl, nempe enim).
Placed after a word: is namque numerus, Varr. ap. Gell. 3, 10: virgini venienti in forum (ibi namque in tabernis litterarum ludi erant), etc., Liv. 3, 44; 4, 31: frumentum namque ex Etruriā, etc., id. 4, 13, 2; 6, 8, 8; 9, 25, 2; 22, 50, 3: frui namque pace, id. 4, 9, 2; 5, 11, 6; 6, 4, 8; 9, 37, 1 al.; omnia namque ista, etc., Quint. 9, 4, 32: mire namque, id. 9, 2, 29: pinxere namque effigies herbarum, Plin. 25, 2, 4, § 8: duodecim namque populos, etc., Flor. 1, 5, 5: non me impia namque Tartara habent, Verg. A. 5, 733: non hoc mihi namque negares, id. ib. 10, 614.