Alemanni

/al'euh man"uy/, n. (used with a pl. v.)

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.

Also, Alamanni.

[ < L, of Gmc orig.; c. Goth alamans totality of humankind, equiv. to ala- ALL (see ALMIGHTY) + mann- MAN¹]

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▪ people

also spelled  Alamanni, or Alamani,  

      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.

      The Alemanni were originally composed of fragments of several Germanic peoples, and they remained a loosely knit confederation of tribes in the Suebi group (see Suebi). Although several tribes put their military forces under the joint command of two leaders for the duration of a campaign, the different peoples generally found it difficult to combine, and they had nothing that could be called a central government. The French and Spanish words for Germany (Allemagne; Alemania) are derived from their name.

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