romance

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English romauns, roumance, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French romanz, romans (the vernacular language of France, as opposed to Latin), from Medieval Latin rōmānicē, Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in the Roman language”, adverb), from Latin rōmānicus (“roman”, adjective) from rōmānus (“a Roman”). Doublet of Romansch. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /rə(ʊ)ˈman(t)s/, /ˈrəʊman(t)s/ (General American) IPA(key): /roʊˈmæn(t)s/, /ˈroʊˌmæn(t)s/ (North India) IPA(key): /roˈmæns/, [roː.mæːns] (South India) IPA(key): /rɵˈmæns/, /ˈroˌmæns/ Rhymes: -æns, -əʊmæns === Noun === romance (countable and uncountable, plural romances) An intimate relationship between two people; a love affair. A strong obsession or attachment for something or someone. Idealized love which is pure or beautiful. A story, novel, film, etc., centred around an idealized love relationship. A story relating to chivalry; a story involving knights, heroes, adventures, quests, etc. A tale of high adventure. A mysterious, exciting, or fascinating quality. A literary or filmic genre about idealized love. An embellished account of something; an idealized lie. An adventure, or series of extraordinary events, resembling those narrated in romances. A dreamy, imaginative habit of mind; a disposition to ignore what is real. (music) A sentimental piece of music; a romanza. ==== Quotations ==== For quotations using this term, see Citations:romance. ==== Antonyms ==== (antonym(s) of “intimate relationship”): platonic, platonic relationship, platonic love, nonromance, antiromance (with respect to intimacy) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Japanese: ロマンス → Korean: 로맨스 (romaenseu) ==== Translations ==== === Verb === romance (third-person singular simple present romances, present participle romancing, simple past and past participle romanced) (transitive) To woo; to court. (intransitive) To write or tell romantic stories, poetry, letters, etc. (intransitive) To talk extravagantly and imaginatively; to build castles in the air. ==== Synonyms ==== (to woo, court): make love, put the moves on, solicit; see also Thesaurus:woo ==== Derived terms ==== === Anagrams === Cameron, Canmore, Cremona, Marenco, Menorca == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from French romance. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌroːˈmɑn.sə/ Hyphenation: ro‧man‧ce Rhymes: -ɑnsə === Noun === romance f (plural romances or romancen, no diminutive) (literature, music, historical) an emotional popular-historical epic ballad [from late 18th c.] (literature, music) a sentimental love song or love story ==== Derived terms ==== romancedichter ==== Descendants ==== → Indonesian: romansa == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from Spanish romance, itself probably a borrowing from either Old French romanz or Old Occitan romans, meaning a narrative work in the vernacular speech, from Vulgar Latin *romanĭce (“in a Roman manner”), compare Medieval Latin rōmānice, ultimately from Latin rōmānicus. See also roman (“novel”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ʁɔ.mɑ̃s/ Rhymes: -ɑ̃s === Noun === romance f (plural romances) a ballad; a love song ==== Descendants ==== === Verb === romance inflection of romancer: first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive second-person singular imperative === Further reading === “romance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Interlingua == === Noun === romance (plural romances) novel === Adjective === romance (comparative plus romance, superlative le plus romance) Romance == Italian == === Adjective === romance feminine plural of romancio === Anagrams === Cremona, Marenco, cremano, cronema, moncare == Portuguese == === Etymology === Borrowed from Old Occitan romans, from Medieval Latin, Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in a Roman manner”), from Latin rōmānicus (“Roman”, adjective), from rōmānus (“Roman”, noun), from Rōma (“Rome”). === Pronunciation === Hyphenation: ro‧man‧ce === Noun === romance m (plural romances) (literature) novel (work of prose fiction) romance; love affair Synonym: caso ==== Derived terms ==== romance de folhetim romance de cavalaria ==== Related terms ==== === Adjective === romance m or f (plural romances, not comparable) (linguistics) Romance (of the languages derived from Latin) Synonyms: neolatim, romanço, românico ==== Derived terms ==== reto-romance === Further reading === “romance”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “romance”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /roˈmanθe/ [roˈmãn̟.θe] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain) IPA(key): /roˈmanse/ [roˈmãn.se] (Latin America, Philippines) Rhymes: -anθe (Equatorial Guinea, Spain) Rhymes: -anse (Latin America, Philippines) Syllabification: ro‧man‧ce === Etymology 1 === Borrowed from Old Occitan romans, or Old French romanz, from Vulgar Latin *romanĭce, compare Medieval Latin rōmānice, ultimately from Latin rōmānicus < rōmānus. Cognates include Old French romanz, whence the modern French noun roman (“novel”). ==== Adjective ==== romance m or f (masculine and feminine plural romances) Romance Synonym: románico ===== Derived terms ===== ==== Noun ==== romance m (plural romances) romance, love affair romance (genre) novel Synonym: novela ===== Hyponyms ===== ===== Descendants ===== → French: romance (see there for further descendants) ==== Noun ==== romance m (uncountable) Spanish (language) Synonyms: castellano, español ===== Derived terms ===== === Etymology 2 === See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. ==== Verb ==== romance inflection of romanzar: first/third-person singular present subjunctive third-person singular imperative === References === === Further reading === “romance”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025