Romanicize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert text or language into the Roman alphabet or style; to adopt or make similar to Roman culture or characteristics; to render or transform using Roman conventions
2. To transcribe or transform script into Roman letters; to imitate or incorporate aspects of Roman civilization; to adapt something into a form influenced by Roman tradition
3. To change writing into the Roman script system; to emulate or integrate Roman societal or cultural features; to represent in a way that reflects Roman norms or elements

Etymology: The root of this verb is "Roman," from Latin "Romanus," the adjective for the city of Roma. The verb itself is a variant of "romanize," which combines "Roman" with the suffix "-ize," borrowed through French from Greek "-izein" by way of Latin "-izare." Its earliest sense was about the Roman Empire spreading its language and customs across conquered lands, so that people learned Latin and adopted Roman ways. Later it came to describe converting other writing systems into the Latin alphabet. Its relative "Romance" points somewhere unexpected. In Old French, "romanz" originally meant speech or writing in the vernacular, the everyday tongue, as opposed to Latin. The languages descended from Latin came to be called Romance because they were the "Romanz" tongues, not because they were thought of as Roman in any strict sense. Both words share the same Roman root, but one stayed close to the city while the other drifted toward everyday speech.

Synonyms: romanize, latinize