Edward Togo Salmon suggested that the endonym may be pupeneis "or something similar," an ethnic name used in four south Picene language inscriptions found near Ascoli Piceno [REF].
For the people, a third-declension adjective stem is formed: Pīc-ent-, used in Pīcens and Pīcentes, "a Picentine" and "the Picentines," which are nouns formed from the adjective.