Sami

noun

Sa·​mi ˈsä-mē 

variants or less commonly Saami

plural Sami or Samis also Saami or Saamis

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

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1