Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A narrative poem or a prose tale in medieval French literature.
  • noun A novel.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to ancient or modern Rome, or the people, institutions, or characteristics of Rome.
  • Hence Having some attribute deemed especially characteristic of the ancient Romans; noble; distinguished; brave; hardy; patriotic; stern.
  • Pertaining to Rome ecclesiastically; of or pertaining to the Church of Rome; papal.
  • [lowercase or cap.] Noting a form of letter or type of which the text of this book is an example.
  • Synonyms Roman, Latin. Roman naturally applies to that which is especially associated or connected with the city, Rome; Latin to that which similarly belongs to the district, Latium. Hence, we speak of Roman power, fortitude, administration; the Roman church; the Latin language. Nearly all the use of Latin has grown out of its application to the language: as, Latin grammar; a Latin idiom; the Latin Church. The words are not interchangeable.
  • noun A native or an inhabitant of Rome, the capital of Italy, and chief city of the ancient Roman empire.
  • noun A person enjoying the freedom or citizenship of ancient Rome.
  • noun A member or an adherent of the Church of Rome; a Romanist.
  • noun [lowercase] A roman letter or type, in distinction from an italic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A native, or permanent resident, of Rome; a citizen of Rome, or one upon whom certain rights and privileges of a Roman citizen were conferred.
  • noun Roman type, letters, or print, collectively; -- in distinction from Italics.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to Rome, or the Roman people; like or characteristic of Rome, the Roman people, or things done by Romans.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic religion; professing that religion.
  • adjective Upright; erect; -- said of the letters or kind of type ordinarily used, as distinguished from Italic characters.
  • adjective Expressed in letters, not in figures, as I., IV., i., iv., etc.; -- said of numerals, as distinguished from the Arabic numerals, 1, 4, etc.
  • adjective (Chem.) a cubical potassium alum formerly obtained in large quantities from Italian alunite, and highly valued by dyers on account of its freedom from iron.
  • adjective a form of balance nearly resembling the modern steelyard. See the Note under Balance, n., 1.
  • adjective a kind of firework (generally held in the hand), characterized by the continued emission of shower of sparks, and the ejection, at intervals, of brilliant balls or stars of fire which are thrown upward as they become ignited.
  • adjective of, pertaining to, or the religion of that church of which the pope is the spiritual head.
  • adjective a cement having the property of hardening under water; a species of hydraulic cement.
  • adjective See under Law.
  • adjective a nose somewhat aquiline.
  • adjective a deep, rich orange color, transparent and durable, used by artists.
  • adjective (Arch.) the composite order. See Composite, a., 2.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of type Upright, as opposed to italic.
  • adjective of text, computing Of or related to the Latin alphabet.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an inhabitant of the ancient Roman Empire
  • adjective characteristic of the modern type that most directly represents the type used in ancient Roman inscriptions
  • adjective relating to or characteristic of people of Rome
  • noun a typeface used in ancient Roman inscriptions
  • adjective of or relating to or derived from Rome (especially ancient Rome)
  • adjective of or relating to or supporting Romanism
  • noun a resident of modern Rome

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

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

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Examples

Comments

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  • German for 'novel'. See also Bildungsroman.

    January 9, 2008