2. Pē̆trōnĭus, i, m., name of a Roman gens.
So, esp.: Petronius Arbiter, a Roman knight, a favorite of the emperor Nero, perh. the same person with Petronius, the author of a Latin romance which is preserved in a fragmentary state, Tac. A. 16, 17 sq.
In fem.: Pē̆trōnĭa, ae, the first wife of the emperor Vitellius, Tac. H. 2, 64; Suet. Vit. 6.
Hence,
- A. Pē̆trōnĭus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to a Petronius, Petronian: Petronia amnis est in Tiberim profluens, quam magistratus auspicato transeunt, cum in campo quid agere voluntquod genus auspicii peremne vocatur, Fest. p. 250 Müll.: Petronia lex, respecting slaves: post legem Petroniam et senatusconsulta ad eam legem pertinentia, dominis, potestas ablata est ad bestias depugnandas suo arbitrio servos tradere, Dig. 48, 8, 11, § 3; ib. 40, 1, 24.
- B. Pē̆trōnĭānus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to a Petronius, Petronian: Petroniana Albucia, Fulg. Myth. praef. 1.