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Glite Dictionary
Cannae

Cannae

1 9.9
An ancient city in southern Italy where Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 BC
  • proper noun
: Cannae
  • Historians often analyze the tactics used during the Battle of Cannae to understand military strategy.
  • the Battle of Cannae
  • Cannae in 216
  • Cannae in 216 BC

Examples

  • At the Battle of Cannae, his army encircled a Roman force nearly twice its size, slaughtering more than 50,000 men in an afternoon.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Cannae.

    Goal! (2005)

  • At the end of his great victory at Cannae, his men were exhausted morally and materially (having to literally butcher 73,000 human beings like beasts must have taken something out of them) and still a small number, 26,000 or so.

    Blog text (10)

  • The Battle of Cannae is remembered as one of Hannibal's greatest victories against the Romans.

  • In 216 BC, the catastrophic defeat at Cannae marked a significant turning point in the Second Punic War.

Surface Forms

Cannae main

Etymology

Cannae comes from the Latin word canna, meaning 'reed'. The site was wet and full of reeds, so the town was named for them, and the famous Battle of Cannae takes its name from that reed-filled place.