Sam·ni·um

(săm′nē-əm)

An ancient country of central and southern Italy. The expansionist desires of its rulers led to the Samnite Wars (343-290 bc) and the ultimate defeat of Samnium by Rome.

Sam′nite (săm′nīt′) adj. & n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Samnite

(in ancient Italy ˈsæmnaɪt)

(Historical Terms) a member of an Oscan-speaking people of the S Apennines, who clashed repeatedly with Rome between 350 bc and 200 bc

adj

(Historical Terms) of or relating to this people

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Sam•nite

(ˈsæm naɪt)
n.

a member of an Oscan-speaking people of Samnium and adjacent regions: subjugated by the Romans in 290 b.c.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Samnite - an Oscan-speaking member of an ancient people of Campania who clashed repeatedly with the early Romans

Campania - a region of southwestern Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea including the islands of Capri and Ischia

Italian - a native or inhabitant of Italy

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References in periodicals archive

Barabas's opening speech refers to his equal degree of comfort and familiarity with Persia, the Samnites (Southern Italy), Uz (bordering Palestine), Arabia, Spain, Greece, India, the Moors, Egypt, Alexandria, and 'Candy-shore' (Crete).

Marlowe and Shakespeare Cross Borders: Malta and Venice in the Early Modern World

"May Pyrrhus and the Samnites believe these teachings as long as they are our enemies".

NPLs and the unaffordable luxury of populist lawmakers

Rome had incorporated the territories of many peoples, Etruscans, Greeks and various Italic peoples; most notably Oscan-speakers such as Samnites, into their state, and for a while had an even military alliance with them.

SPROUTS OF THE ANCIENTS: THE ANCIENT ROOTS OF REPRESENTATION IN THE GREATER MEDITERRANEAN REGION FROM THE HITTITES TO ROME

Changes in skeletal robusticity in an iron age agropastoral group: The Samnites from the Alfedena necropolis (Abruzzo, Central Italy).

Habitual Activity in Pre-industrial Rural and Urban Dutch Populations: A Study of Lower Limb Cross-sectional Geometry

"Tracking the Samnites: Landscape and Communications Routes in the Sangro Valley, Italy." American Journal of Archaeology 106 (2): 169-186.

The development of integrated terrestrial and marine pathways in the Argo-Saronic region, Greece

In addition to six centuries of Roman domination, the area has been home to Greeks, Etruscans, Samnites, Osci, Visigoths, Ostragoths, Longobards, Normans, Swabians and Angevins, as well as representatives of the Aragonese and Bourbon dynasties.

Writing Campanian lives: considerations of transnational identity and belonging

British History 101 and History of Rome are podcasting sites produced by amateur historians who discuss various aspects of European history including episodes on the Magna Carta and a three-part series on wars between the Romans and the Samnites. These informational podcasts employ an audio lecture format that range anywhere from a minute (see A Moment in Time podcast) to an hour and a half (see Gilder Lehrman podcast).

Trend alert: a history teacher's guide to using podcasts in the classroom

(5) While the site of Pompeii was variously occupied by Greeks, Etruscans, Samnites and Romans, the city was deliberately excavated to the level of the 79 AD eruption by Guiseppe Fiorelli and most of his successors.

Light, space and affluent taste: ancient pompeian houses and their decoration

Central Italy was home to Latins, Etruscans, Celts, and Samnites, who were just as militaristic as Rome.

Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War and the Rise of Rome