Oscan

American  

[os-kuhn] / ˈɒs kən /

noun

1. one of an ancient people of south-central Italy.

2. the Indo-European, probably Italic, language of the Oscans, written in an alphabet derived from the Etruscan.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Oscans or their language.

Oscan British  

/ ˈɒskən /

noun

1. an extinct language of ancient S Italy belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European family See also Osco-Umbrian

2. a speaker of this language; Samnite

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adjective

1. of or relating to this language

Other Word Forms

• non-Oscan
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Oscan

1590–1600; Latin Osc(ī) the Oscans + -an

Example Sentences

At this time they were speaking Oscan as well as Greek, and two of three Oscan inscriptions in Greek alphabet still testify to the language spoken in the town in the 3rd century B.C.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

I have frequently stated that the Oscan language, in which the Atellan farces were written, had once been the only tongue, and had continued to be the popular dialect of the Pompeians.

From The Wonders of Pompeii by Monnier, Marc

While this early literature embodied Oscan and Etruscan as well as Latin elements, it was truly Roman; for the Roman was himself formed of just such a mixture.

From Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922 by Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips)

Of these three languages the Oscan, as the one of least value to acquire for the purposes of literature or of social intercourse, was most likely to have been his inherited tongue.

From The Roman Poets of the Republic by Sellar, W. Y.

They were composed in the Oscan dialect, and were at first rude extemporaneous farces, but were afterward divided into acts like a regular drama.

From A Smaller History of Rome by Smith, William, Sir