en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galba
1 correction found
the term galba, which the Romans used to describe the Gauls,
This reverses Suetonius’s explanation. In Suetonius, *galba* is a word the **Gauls** used for a very fat man, not a Roman term for Gauls.
Full reasoning
The article appears to invert the relationship described by Suetonius.
In Life of Galba 3, Suetonius lists possible origins of the cognomen Galba and says one explanation is that an ancestor was "a very fat man, such as the Gauls term galba." In other words, galba is presented there as a word used by the Gauls, not as a Roman label for the Gauls.
A Latin dictionary source also defines galba as "fat paunch, big belly" (and also a type of small worm), which further contradicts the article's wording that Romans used galba to describe the Gauls as a people.
So the article's phrase changes the meaning: it turns a word attributed to Gaulish usage into a Roman ethnonym, which is not what the cited ancient source says.
2 sources
- Suetonius • Life of Galba
Suetonius says one possible origin of the name was that an ancestor was "a very fat man, such as the Gauls term galba," or else as slender as insects called galbae.
- Latin Definition for: galba, galbae (ID: 21252) - Latin Dictionary and Grammar Resources - Latdict
The Lewis & Short-based entry defines galba as "fat paunch, big belly" and also as a small worm/larva, not as a Roman term for the Gauls.