Helvetii

[ hel-vee-shee-ahy ]

plural noun

1. the ancient Celtic inhabitants of Helvetia in the time of Julius Caesar.

Helvetii

/ hɛlˈviːʃɪˌaɪ /

plural noun

1. a Celtic tribe from SW Germany who settled in Helvetia from about 200 bc

Word History and Origins

Origin of Helvetii¹

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1890–95

Example Sentences

When those formidable Helvetii marched out of their Alpine cantons to occupy Gallic lowlands in 58 BC, Caesar deployed geopolitics to defeat them -- seizing strategic terrain, controlling their grain supplies, and manipulating rival tribes.

From Salon

“Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because... they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Germans in almost daily battles.”

From Salon

Instead of enslaving the vanquished Helvetii as other Roman generals might have, Caesar, mindful of the empire’s geopolitical balance, returned them to their homelands with generous provisions, lest the German “barbarians” cross the Rhine and destabilize Gaul’s natural frontier.

From Salon

There you’ll find an amphitheater built when the 2,000-year-old town was known as Aventicum, the Roman capital city of the Helvetii people.

From New York Times

The reports of gold and plunder spread by the Cimbri and Teutones on their way to southern Gaul induced the Helvetii to follow their example.

From Project Gutenberg