Pompeii
UK /pɒmˈpeɪ(i)/ · US /pɑːmˈpeɪ(i)/ proper noun
- proper noun A ruined Roman town in Italy, destroyed by Vesuvius (a volcano) in AD 79.
- proper noun A city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, Italy.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Pompeiī, of Oscan origin, from Oscan *pompe (“five”) + the Latin name-forming suffix -eiī, a reference to its five districts.
Related to cinque, five, pimp (“five”), ponzu, punch (“beverage”), and sengi (“currency”).
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Pompeii”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details