Romanian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the people, culture, or language originating from Romania
2. Pertaining to the Romanian language, a Romance language spoken mainly in Romania and Moldova
3. Describing customs, traditions, or historical aspects of Romania as a nation or geographic region

Etymology: The adjective "Romanian" is a plain formation: the country name "Romania" with the suffix "-an" attached, so it means "of or from Romania." The country's name itself comes from the Latin "Romanus," meaning "Roman," since the region was part of the Roman Empire and its people came to be regarded as descendants of Roman settlers. Adding "-an" to a place name to make a "person from there" or "thing from there" is one of English's most common patterns, and the same ending appears in "American," "Italian," and "Korean." The suffix's own history is longer. It descends from a Latin ending "-anus," which was used to form adjectives meaning "belonging to" or "associated with" a noun, and it reached English through Old French "-ain," which was itself taken from Latin. Middle English then adopted it as "-an," the form it has kept in modern English.

Synonyms: Romanian language, Daco-Romanian