TheCaerosi (orCaeroesi) were a smallBelgic-Germanic tribe that lived inGallia Belgica during theIron Age and theRoman period. Their ethnic identity remains uncertain.Caesar described them as part of theGermani Cisrhenani, but their tribal name is probably of Celtic origin.[1][2][3] Like other Germani Cisrhenani tribes, it is possible that their old Germanicendonym came to be abandoned after a tribal reorganization, that they received their names from their Celtic neighbours, or else that they were fully or partially assimilated into Celtic culture at the time of the Roman invasion of the region in 57 BC.[2]
They are mentioned asCaerosos (var.ceroesos,caeroesos,cerosos) byCaesar (mid-1st c. BC),[4] and asCaerosi byOrosius (early 5th c. AD).[5][6][2]
TheethnonymCaerosi probably derives from aProto-Celtic stem reconstructed as*caer- ('sheep'; cf.Old Irishcaera), itself from an earlier*caper- (cf.Latincaper,Old Norsehafr, 'billy goat', Greekkápros 'boar'). The variantCaeroesi has an unexplained suffix (-oeso-), which is not found in either Celtic or Germanic languages, although-oso- is a known suffix in Gaulish (e.g.Laudosa,Iboso). It may be translated as 'the sheep', 'the rams', or else 'rich in sheep', although its exact meaning remains unclear.[7] It is linguistically related to other Celtic ethnonyms such asCaeracates,Caereni, andKairènoi (Καιρηνοί).[1][3]
Alternative comparisons with the Old Irishcáera ('berry'),[8][9] theMiddle Irishcéar ('dark brown'),[2] or theProto-Germanic *haira- ('worthy, exalted, *grey-haired’; cf. Mod. High Germanhehr 'noble') have also been proposed by some scholars.[9]
The region ofpagus Carucum, a Roman-era subdivision of theTreveri later known under theFranks asPagus Coroascus, may be named after the tribe,[10] although the linguistic connection remains uncertain.[11] The name has been discovered on a Roman era boundary marker carved with the inscription 'FINIS PAGI CARV CVM' ('boundary or end of thepagus Carucum'), located in a wooded area nearNeidenbach andKyllburg.[12]
The Caerosi lived in theArdennes and Eifel region, between theRhine andMeuse rivers, near theTreverii in the south, theCondrusi in the west, thePaemani andEburones in the north, and theUbii on the opposite bank of the Rhine in the east.[13]
To the east of Neidenbach, theVinxtbach, a small river flowing eastwards to the Rhine, marked the boundary between theRoman provinces ofGermania Superior andGermania Inferior. The nameVinxtbach is in fact thought to derive from the Latin wordfinis, meaning an end or boundary.[14] Today, the place is still a boundary between modern German dialects, withRipuarian to the north, andMoselle Frankish to the south. Also located nearby is the modern boundary of the modern GermanLänder ofRheinland-Pfalz andNordrhein-Westfalen.[citation needed]
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