Original: Goldsworthy, The Punic Wars, p. 13 The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus (or Poenicus), meaning "Carthaginian", with reference the Carthaginians' Phoenician ancestry.
Simplified: Goldsworthy, The Punic Wars, p. 13 They are known as the Punic Wars because the Latin term for Carthaginian was Punici (older Poenici, from their Phoenician ancestry).