Samnian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A member of an ancient Italic tribe known for their warrior culture and conflicts with Rome
2. Referring to the language spoken by the Samnites, which is part of the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages
3. Pertaining to the historical region of Samnium, located in present-day southern Italy, primarily inhabited by the Samnites

Etymology: The Samnites were a group of Italic peoples in the mountains of south-central Italy, and ancient writers such as Livy traced their origins to the Sabines, a neighboring Italic people. Their language is known almost entirely from inscriptions, mostly on stone, bronze, and coins, and scholars generally treat it as a dialect of Oscan, the language of the wider Oscan-speaking world. This is why "Samnian" and "Oscan" are sometimes used interchangeably, though the first names the people while the second names the language family. The Samnites are best known to English readers through the Samnite Wars (343 to 290 BC), a series of conflicts with Rome that ended in Roman victory. The adjective is formed by adding the English suffix "-ian" to "Samnite," which comes from Latin "Samnites," the name the Romans gave the people. The Latin name is the usual source for the English forms, and its earlier origin is uncertain.

Synonyms: Samnite