Teutons, << TOO tuhnz, >> is a name sometimes given to the Germanic peoples. The term comes from the Teutones, or Teutoni, who, with the Cimbri, were the first Germanic peoples to threaten ancient Rome’s power. With their neighbors, the Ambrones, the Teutones left their homeland around the mouth of the Elbe River in the 100’s B.C. In Gaul (mainly present-day France), they allied themselves with the Cimbri. The Roman general Gaius Marius defeated the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae (now Aix-en-Provence, France) in 102 B.C. He defeated the Cimbri in Italy the following year.
Later, the remnants of the Teutones mixed with other early groups that wandered through Europe. They eventually gave their name to a whole group of Teutonic, or Germanic, languages. These languages include Dutch, English, German, and the Scandinavian tongues.
