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ro·man

(rō-mäɴ)

1. A narrative poem or a prose tale in medieval French literature.

2. A novel.

[French, from Old French romans, romance; see ROMANCE.]

Ro·man

(rōmən)

adj.

a. Of or relating to ancient or modern Rome or its people or culture.

b. Of or relating to the Roman Empire.

a. Of, relating to, or composed in the Latin language.

b. Of or using the Latin alphabet.

3. Of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.

4. Of or being an architectural style developed by the ancient Romans and characterized by the round arch as chief structural element, the vault, concrete masonry construction, and classical ornamentation.

5. roman Of or being a typestyle characterized by upright letters having serifs and vertical lines thicker than horizontal lines.

1. A native, inhabitant, or citizen of ancient or modern Rome.

2. The Italian language as spoken in Rome.

3. One belonging to the Roman Catholic Church.

4. roman Roman print or typestyle.

5. Romans (used with a sing. verb) See Table at Bible.

[Middle English, from Old English Rōmān or from Old French romain, both from Latin Rōmānus, from Rōma, Rome.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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