[fuh-lis-kuh
n] 
noun, plural -cans, (especially collectively) -can for 1.| 1. | a member of an ancient people who inhabited southern Etruria. |
| 2. | the Italic language spoken by this people, closely related to Latin. |
| 3. | of or pertaining to the Faliscans or their language. |
| Fa·lis·can (fə-lĭs'kən) n.
[From Latin Faliscus, from Faleriī, a city of ancient Etruria.] |
Faliscan
ancient people of southern Etruria in Italy who, though Latin in nationality, were culturally closer to the Etruscans. The Greek geographer Strabo mentions them and their "special language," which was closely related to Latin. They occupied the region between the Tiber River and Mt. Ciminus, with Falerii Veteres (present-day Civita Castellana) as their capital. Resistance of the Falisci to Rome began in 437 BC, when they joined with Veii in the Etruscan alliance against the common enemy and ended with the razing of Falerii by the Romans in 241 BC. The Falisci were moved 3 miles (5 km) to the west to a new city, Falerii Novi. The old site was resettled in the Middle Ages. The shrine of Juno Curitis is described by the Roman poet Ovid in his Amores. Objects in early Faliscan graves are indistinguishable from early Etruscan objects. See also Faliscan language.
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