Roman

Roman

Adjective / Noun · /ˈrəʊmən/ · of or relating to Rome, its people, or its civilisation

Definition

Roman as an adjective describes anything belonging to or characteristic of ancient Rome, the Roman Empire, or the culture that grew from it. As a noun, a Roman is a person from Rome. The word reaches across history, architecture, law, typography, and religion — Roman numerals, Roman arches, Roman law, Roman Catholic, Roman type. Few single adjectives in English carry more weight across more disciplines.

Origin

From Latin Romanus, meaning of or belonging to Rome. Rome itself — Roma in Latin — is a name whose exact origin is debated: some link it to the Etruscan word for the Tiber river, others to a founding myth. The adjective Roman entered Old French as romain and passed into Middle English in the thirteenth century. By the time of the Renaissance, Roman had expanded far beyond geography to describe an entire civilisational legacy.