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messapian

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Mes⋅sa⋅pic

[muh-sey-pik, -sap-ik]
–noun
an Indo-European language that was spoken in what is now SE Italy and written with an alphabet derived from that of Greek.
Also, Mes⋅sa⋅pi⋅an [muh-sey-pee-uhn] .


Origin:
1765–75; < L Mesāp(ius) pertaining to Messāpia the Calabrian peninsula + -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Mes·sa·pi·an   (mə-sā'pē-ən)   
adj.  Messapic.
n.  
  1. A speaker of Messapic.

  2. See Messapic.

Mes·sa·pic   (mə-sā'pĭk)   
n.  An extinct Indo-European language preserved in inscriptions from southeast Italy that date from the sixth to the first century B.C. Also called Messapian.
adj.  Of or relating to Messapic or its speakers.

[From Latin Messāpia, ancient name for the region of Italy containing Apulia and Calabria.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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