Latinism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term denoting a word, phrase, or idiom borrowed from Latin or constructed according to Latin language or grammar rules; a stylistic device reflecting Latin origin or influence; a linguistic element characteristic of Latin usage
2. Referring to vocabulary, expressions, or grammatical structures derived from or modeled on Latin; an element incorporated into another language based on Latin roots; a feature typical of Latin style or rhetoric
3. A lexical or grammatical unit adopted from Latin or reminiscent of Latin linguistic forms; a figure of speech or stylistic trait indicating Latin influence; a borrowing that shows the Latin language’s imprint on another language’s lexicon or style

Etymology: Latinism is a plain formation: the Latin word "Latinus" (relating to Latium, the region around Rome, and so to the Latin language) with the suffix "-ism," which English took from Greek. The Greek suffix "-ismos," built on verbs ending in "-izein," produced nouns for practices, systems or imitated behaviours, and English inherited it through Latin as "-ismus," so a Latinism is literally a Latin-type feature, or the imitation of one. The suffix matters for the meaning. The same pattern gives "Hellenism," the imitation of Greek culture, and "Gallicism," a French idiom. A Latinism can therefore be a borrowed Latin word such as "ad hoc," a phrase built by Latin rules, or a style that copies Latin sentence structure, such as the long, inverted sentences some English prose writers adopted. The word's meaning covers all three, which is why it reaches from vocabulary to grammar to style.

Synonyms: latinism