Where does “romance” come from?
Romance comes from Middle English romauns, from Old French romanz, from Latin romanice loqui meaning "to speak in the Roman language," derived from romanicus, from romanus with the suffix -anus.
romance (English): A story relating to chivalry; a story involving...
Definitions
- A story relating to chivalry; a story involving...
Ancestry of “romance”, step by step
romance traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English romauns
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | romauns | — |
| 2 | Old French | romanz | Old French; a story in Old French; account |
| 3 | Latin | rōmānicē | in the Roman manner |
| 4 | Latin | -ē | ly; used to form adverbs from adjectives |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |