Latin is the language which the ancient Romans used to speak.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Latin countries are countries where Spanish, or perhaps Portuguese, Italian, or French, is spoken. You can also use Latin to refer to things and people that come from these countries.
Cuba was one of the least Catholic of the Latin countries.
The enthusiasm for Latin music is worldwide.
3. countable noun [usually plural]
Latins are people who come from countries where Spanish, or perhaps Portuguese, Italian,or French, are spoken or whose families come from one of these countries.
They are role models for thousands of young Latins.
Latin in British English
(ˈlætɪn)
noun
1.
the language of ancient Rome and the Roman Empire and of the educated in medieval Europe, which achieved its classical form during the 1st century bc. Having originally been the language of Latium, belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European family, it later formed the basis of the Romance group
Late Latin, Low Latin, Medieval Latin, New Latin, Old Latin, See also Romance
2.
a member of any of those peoples whose languages are derived from Latin
3.
an inhabitant of ancient Latium
adjective
4.
of or relating to the Latin language, the ancient Latins, or Latium
5.
characteristic of or relating to those peoples in Europe and Latin America whose languages are derived from Latin
6.
of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church
7.
denoting or relating to the Roman alphabet
Word origin
Old English latin and læden Latin, language, from Latin Latīnus of Latium
Latin in American English
(ˈlætən)
adjective
1.
of ancient Latium or its people
2.
of ancient Rome or its people
3.
of or in the language of ancient Latium and ancient Rome
4.
a.
designating or of the languages derived from Latin, the peoples that speak them, or their countriesor cultures
b.
of or relating to Latin Americans
5.
of the Roman Catholic Church, esp. as distinguished from the Eastern Church
noun
6.
a person born or living in ancient Latium or ancient Rome
7.
the Italic language of ancient Latium and ancient Rome
see also Old Latin, Late Latin, Low Latin, Medieval Latin, Modern Latin
8.
a person whose language is derived from Latin, as a Spaniard, Italian, or Latin American
9.
a Roman Catholic
so called esp. by Eastern Christians
Word origin
L Latinus < Latium, Latium (in which Rome was included), orig. ? “flat land” < IE *tletiom < base *(s)tel-, to spread out > L latus, broad
Examples of 'Latin' in a sentence
Latin
Something Latin would go down well with the punters, maybe the `Buena Vista Social Club '.
Isabel Wolff RESCUING ROSE (2002)
There was a toast in Gaelic which everyone except Salter understood, and a Latin grace which took nobody else by surprise.
Wright, Eric A BODY SURROUNDED BY WATER (2002)
We use carols from every land and quite a lot of the old Latin carols.
Brent-Dyer, Elinor CHALLENGE FOR THE CHALET SCHOOL (2002)
Both were held in high regard by the CIA as greenhouses in which the future leaders of Latin America's military were nurtured.
Collins, Larry BLACK EAGLES (2002)
Quotations
If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin they would never have found time to conquer the worldHeinrich Heine
Word lists with
Latin
terms relating to alphabets, Ancient Languages, European peoples
In other languages
Latin
British English: Latin /ˈlætɪn/ NOUN
Latin is the language which the ancient Romans used to speak.
American English: Latin
Arabic: لاتِينِّيٌّ
Brazilian Portuguese: latim
Chinese: 拉丁文
Croatian: latinski
Czech: latina
Danish: latin
Dutch: Latijn
European Spanish: latín
Finnish: latinan kieli
French: latin
German: Latein
Greek: Λατίνος
Italian: latino
Japanese: ラテン語
Korean: 라틴어
Norwegian: latin
Polish: łacina
European Portuguese: latim
Romanian: limba latină
Russian: латынь
Latin American Spanish: latín
Swedish: latin
Thai: ภาษาละติน
Turkish: Latin
Ukrainian: латина
Vietnamese: tiếng Latin
All related terms of 'Latin'
Latin-1
a standard set of characters for Western European languages put together by the International Organization for Standardization
dog Latin
spurious or incorrect Latin
Low Latin
any form or dialect of Latin other than the classical , such as Vulgar or Medieval Latin
Neo-Latin
denoting or relating to New Latin
New Latin
the form of Latin used since the Renaissance , esp for scientific nomenclature
Old Latin
the Latin language before the classical period , up to about 100 bc
Pig Latin
a secret language used by children in which any consonants at the beginning of a word are placed at the end , followed by -ay; for example cathedral becomes athedralcay
Late Latin
the form of written Latin used from the 3rd to the 7th centuries ad
Latin cross
a cross the lowest arm of which is longer than the other three
latin lover
a stereotypical way to describe a romantic and passionate male lover from a Mediterranean or Latin-American country
Latin Rite
the liturgy and other rites of the Catholic Church as authorized for use in Rome and generally throughout the Western Church
Latin America
those areas of America whose official languages are Spanish and Portuguese , derived from Latin : South America, Central America, Mexico , and certain islands in the Caribbean
Latin Church
the Roman Catholic Church
Latin Quarter
an area of Paris , on the S bank of the River Seine : contains the city's main educational establishments ; centre for students and artists
Latin school
a type of school where the curriculum has a main focus on Classics and Latin
Latin square
(in statistical analysis ) one of a set of square arrays of n rows and columns , esp as used in statistics and studied in combinatorial analysis, built up from n different symbols so that no symbol occurs more than once in any row or column
Middle Latin
→ Medieval Latin
Modern Latin
the Latin that has come into use since about 1500, chiefly in scientific literature
Vulgar Latin
any of the dialects of Latin spoken in the Roman Empire other than classical Latin. The Romance languages developed from them
Biblical Latin
the form of Latin used in versions of the Bible , esp the form used in the Vulgate
ISO Latin-1
a standard set of characters for Western European languages put together by the International Organization for Standardization
Latin alphabet
the alphabet used for writing in Latin by the ancient Romans , from which most modern European alphabets are derived : it consisted of 23 letters ( J , U , and W were added later)
Latin American
Latin American means belonging or relating to the countries of South America, Central America, and Mexico . Latin American also means belonging or relating to the people of culture of these countries.
Medieval Latin
the Latin language as used throughout Europe in the Middle Ages . It had many local forms incorporating Latinized words from other languages
non-
Non- is used in front of adjectives and nouns to form adjectives that describe something as not having a particular quality or feature .
Chinese translation of 'Latin'
Latin
(ˈlætɪn)
n
(u) (= language) 拉丁语(語) (Lādīngyǔ)
(c) (= person) 拉丁人 (Lādīngrén) (个(個), gè)
adj
拉丁的 (Lādīng de)
language note:
Historically, English borrowed its greatest number of words from Latin and French. Often words of the same root would come into English from both Latin and French in slightly different forms. Some of these now exist as synonyms in English with fine distinctions. This process can be seen with gravitas and gravity. Both are derived from an original Latin form meaning `weight': gravity came into English via French in the 16th century, and gravitas was coined from Latin in the 20th century. There is a significant overlap in meaning in that both mean `seriousness', but they are used to describe different things. Gravitas is used to describe the importance and clout attached to a person's high status or the dignity of pomp and ceremony, e.g. he lent gravitas to the proceedings. Gravity, on the other hand, has a wider meaning of seriousness, and denotes a situation or behaviour, e.g. the gravity of their crime. Numerous Latin words became legal terminology with specialized meanings in English. Many of these words are still used today by lawyers in precise technical ways, but have also developed a looser meaning in general language. For example, a proviso is a clause in a contract making a limitation, condition, or exception to the rest of the agreement. In general language, it also means a condition or restriction, but not one which is legally binding, in the phrase with the proviso that.
Quotation
If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin they would never have found time to conquer the world [Heinrich Heine]