Sami

Sa·mi

noun \ˈsä-mē\

plural Sami or Samis also Saami or Saamis

Definition of SAMI

1

: a member of a people of northern Scandinavia, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of northern Russia who are traditionally fishermen, nomadic herders of caribou, and hunters of sea mammals

2

: any or all of the closely related Finno-Ugric languages of the Sami people

Variants of SAMI

Sa·mi also Saa·mi \ˈsä-mē\

Origin of SAMI

of Sami origin; akin to North Sami sápmi, genitive sámi the Sami homeland, language, or way of life

First Known Use: 1842

Sami

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of the descendants of ancient nomadic peoples who inhabited northern Scandinavia. They may be Paleo-Siberian or alpine peoples from central Europe. Reindeer hunting was the basis of their life from earliest times; herding was the basis of their economy until recently. They became nomadic a few centuries ago. The three Sami languages, mutually unintelligible, are sometimes considered dialects of one language of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic family. They number about 70,000.

Variants of SAMI

Sami or Lapp