Chaemae

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The Chaemae were an ancient Germanic tribe cited by Ptolemy in his Geography (2.10) with the name Chaimai, which also can be written in English Khaimai.

Nomenclature[edit]

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All three designations probably stem from common Germanic *haimaz, "home", from Proto-Indo-European *tkei-, "settle." Where the Cham-avi reflects the ham- form (English ham-let), the other two reflect the -heim form (as in Bo-haem-ia). The monophthongization was an Ingvaeonic innovation. We are more familiar with -ham because a large part of the lowlanders moved to Britain.

The Chaemi may reflect a more ancient distribution of people calling themselves "settlers" or "natives." Why they would have done so remains obscure, but the name is of the same type as hed- (English heath), human and possibly but less certainly man.

Ancient sources[edit]

Ptolemy tells us next to nothing about them, only that they were next to the Bructeri.^[1] That little turns out to be a great deal. It is often suggested that the Chaemae and the Banochaemae are alternative names for the Chamavi, based on a common derivation. We know, however, that the Chamavi and their neighbors forcibly expelled the Bructeri from their original lands, which became Hamaland after the Chamavi moved in.^{[citation needed]}

See also[edit]

• List of Germanic peoples

References[edit]

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