Editing Messapic language (section)

===Italic===
[[File:Samnium.jpg|thumb|250px|Southern [[Samnium]] and northern Apulia were major regions of Iapygian-Italic linguistic contact]]
Since its settlement, Messapic was in contact with the [[Italic languages]] of the region. In the centuries before Roman annexation, the frontier between Messapic and [[Oscan language|Oscan]] ran through Frentania-[[Irpinia]]-[[Lucania]]-Apulia. An "Oscanization" and "Samnitization" process gradually took place which is attested in contemporary sources via the attestation of dual identities for settlements. In these regions an Oscan/Lucanian population and a large Daunian element intermixed in different ways. [[Larinum]], a settlement which has produced a large body of Oscan onomastics is described as a "Daunian city" and [[Horace]] who was from [[Venusia]] in the transboundary area between the Daunians and the Lucanians described himself as  "Lucanian or Apulian". The creation of Roman colonies in southern Italy after the early 4th century BCE had a great impact in the Latinization of the area.{{sfn|Torelli|1995|pp=142-144}}

A small corpus of Messapic vocabulary did pass into Latin. They include ''baltea'' from ''balta'' (swamp), ''deda'' (nurse), ''gandeia'' (sword), ''horeia'' (small fishing boat), ''mannus'' (pony/small horse) from ''manda''. Messapic was an intermediary for the passing of several, mostly ancient Greek words, into Latin such as ''paro'' (small ship) from Greek ''paroon''. The Latin form of ''Odysseus'',  ''Ulixes'' might derive from a Messapic variant like the ethnonym ''Graeci'' which may have been used in its original form by Illyrians for their Greek neighbours in Epirus. A Messapic morphological intermediary has been proposed for Latin ''lancea'' (spear) and ''balaena'' (from Greek ''phallaina''). In literature, Horace and Ennius who came from the region are the only authors of Roman antiquity who have preserved the non-Italic word ''laama'' (swamp) which might be Messapic.{{sfn|Palmer|1988|pp=39-41}}