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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🌾 An ancient person 📜 An old language 📜 An ancient language
Oscan

Oscan

1 9.9
A person from ancient southern Italy who spoke an old local language
  • noun
  • /ˈɒskən/
: osco
  • The Oscan people were known for their rich cultural heritage in ancient Campania.

Examples

  • However, when he when he ruled, he brought in some Italian mercenaries, some Oscan speaking troops from Campania known as the Mamertines.

  • Many scholars study Oscan inscriptions to learn more about the ancient tribes of the region.

  • Artifacts from the Oscan civilization provide insight into their daily life in southern Italy.

Synonyms

Samnite
vsOscan
1 9.9

A person from an ancient people in southern Italy who fought early Rome

is the general name for any ancient southern Italy speaker of that language

Compounds

Oscan language
  • Specialized
1 9.9

An old language from southern Italy spoken long ago by tribes like the Samnites that people no longer speak

Surface Forms

Oscan singular
Oscans plural

Morphology

Oscan = osc + an

The suffix '-an' signals a member of a people, but the root 'osc' is an obscure ethnonym rather than a familiar English word, so meaning is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Oscan comes from the people called the Osci, who once lived in southern Italy. So an Oscan is someone 'of the Osci', a member of that ancient people.