[al-uh-man-ahy] 
) | a confederation of Germanic tribes, first recorded in the 3rd century a.d., that settled in the area between the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers, and made harassing attacks against the Roman Empire. |
| Al·e·man·ni (āl'ə-mān'ī) pl.n. A group of Germanic tribes that settled in Alsace and nearby areas during the fourth century A.D. and were defeated by the Franks in 496. [Latin Alemannī, of Germanic origin; see man-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
Alemanni
a Germanic people first mentioned in connection with the Roman attack on them in AD 213. In the following decades, their pressure on the Roman provinces became severe; they occupied the Agri Decumates c. 260, and late in the 5th century they expanded into Alsace and northern Switzerland, establishing the German language in those regions. In 496 they were conquered by Clovis and incorporated into his Frankish dominions.
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