LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
proper noun · neutersecond declension

Samnium

Samnium n sg (genitive Samniī or Samnī)
Classical[ˈsam.ni.ũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈsam.ni.um]

Meaning

  1. historicalneutersingularSamnium (an ancient region of southern Italy)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeSamnium—
genitiveSamniī
Samnī		—
dativeSamniō—
accusativeSamnium—
ablativeSamniō—
vocativeSamnium—

Samnĭum, ii, n. contr. from Sabinium, from Sabini: ab Sabinis orti Samnites, Varr. L. L. 7, § 29 Müll.,
I. an ancient country of Italy, in the neighborhood of Latium, whose inhabitants were an offshoot from the Sabines, Liv. 7, 32; Cic. Clu. 69, 197; id. Att. 14, 20, 2; 16, 11, 6; id. Rep. 3, 7 al.—Hence,
A. Samnīs (collat. form of the nom. Samnītis, Cato ap. Prisc. p. 762; Prud. adv. Symm. 2, 515), ītis, adj., of or belonging to Samnium, Samnite: ager, Liv. 24, 20: exercitus, id. 10, 16 fin.: bellum, Plin. 34, 6, 12, § 26: ursae, Sil. 4, 560: habitator Samnitis (terrae), Prud. στεφ. 11, 207.— Subst., in plur.: Samnītes, ĭum (gen. Samnitum, Cic. de Or. 2, 79; but cf. Samnitium, id. ib. 3, 23 Orell. N. cr.; and so usu. and very freq. in Liv., Plin., and Tac.), m., the inhabitants of Samnium, the Samnites, Varr. L. L. 7, 3, 86 fin.; Liv. 7, 19; 7, 29 sq.; 8, 1 sq.; 9, 1 sq.; Cic. Off. 1, 12, 38; 3, 30, 109; id. Sen. 16, 55 al.—Gr. acc. Samnităs, Flor. 1, 16, 7; Aur. Vict. Vir. Ill. 34, § 6.—In sing.: Samnīs, ītis, m., collect., the Samnites, Liv. 10, 35; Luc. 2, 137.—
2. Transf., the name of Samnites was also given to a class of gladiators who were armed with Samnite weapons, Varr. L. L. 5, § 142 Müll.; Plin. 7, 20, 19, § 81; Liv. 9, 40; Cic. de Or. 2, 80, 325; 3, 23, 86; Inscr. Orell. 2569.—So in sing.: Samnīs, Lucil. ap. Cic. Tusc. 2, 17, 41; and ap. de Or. 3, 23, 86.—
B. Samnītĭcus, a, um, adj., Samnite: bellum, Suet. Vit. 1; Flor. 1, 16, 2: vasa, Capitol. Pertin. 8.

Origins

From Proto-Italic Proto-Italic *saβnjom. Cognate with Oscan 𐌔𐌀𐌚𐌉𐌍𐌉𐌌 (safinim).

Descendants
  • ItalianSannio

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

GeographySamniumSamnium (ἡ Σαυνῖτις, Pol., Strab.: Eth. SAMNIS, pl.eth. Samnites, Eth. Σαυνῖται, Pol., Strab., &c.; Σαμνῖται, Ptol.), one of the principal regions or …

Quick answers

What does Samnium mean in Latin?
Samnium, a proper noun, means “Samnium (an ancient region of southern Italy)”.
What is the genitive of Samnium?
The genitive singular is Samniī. Samnium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce Samnium?
In classical Latin, [ˈsam.ni.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsam.ni.um].