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• roman
  roman

  noun

  a metrical narrative, especially in medieval French literature.
• Roman
  Roman

  adjective

  of or relating to the ancient or modern city of Rome, or to its inhabitants and their customs and culture.

roman

¹ American  

[raw-mahn] / rɔˈmɑ̃ /

noun

French.

• romans
  plural

1. a metrical narrative, especially in medieval French literature.

2. a novel.

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Roman ² American  

[roh-muhn] / ˈroʊ mən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the ancient or modern city of Rome, or to its inhabitants and their customs and culture.

   Roman restaurants.

2. of or relating to the ancient kingdom, republic, and empire whose capital was the city of Rome.

3. of a kind or character regarded as typical of the ancient Romans.

   Roman virtues.

4. (usually lowercase) designating or pertaining to the upright style of printing types most commonly used in modern books, periodicals, etc., of which the main text of this dictionary is an example.

5. of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.

6. noting, pertaining to, or resembling the architecture of ancient Rome, especially the public and religious architecture, characterized by the employment of massive brick and concrete construction, with such features as the semicircular arch, the dome, and groin and barrel vaults, by the use in interiors of marble and molded stucco revetments, by the elaboration of the Greek orders as purely decorative motifs for the adornment of façades and interiors, and by an overall effect in which simplicity and grandeur of massing is often combined with much elaboration of detailing.

7. written in or pertaining to Roman numerals.

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noun

• Romans
  plural

1. a native, inhabitant, or citizen of ancient or modern Rome.

2. the dialect of Italian spoken in Rome.

3. (usually lowercase) roman type or lettering.

4. Disparaging. a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

5. Rare. the Latin language.

6. a male given name.

Roman ¹ British  

/ ˈrəʊmən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Rome or its inhabitants in ancient or modern times

2. of or relating to Roman Catholicism or the Roman Catholic Church

3. denoting, relating to, or having the style of architecture used by the ancient Romans, characterized by large-scale masonry domes, barrel vaults, and semicircular arches

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noun

1. a citizen or inhabitant of ancient or modern Rome

2. informal short for Roman Catholic

roman ² British  

/ ˈrəʊmən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a vertical style of printing type: the usual form of type for most printed matter Compare italic

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noun

1. roman type or print

roman ³ British  

/ rɔmɑ̃ /

noun

1. a metrical narrative in medieval French literature derived from the chansons de geste

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Roman Idioms  

1. see when in Rome do as the Romans do.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Roman
  adjective
• non-Roman
  adjective
• post-Roman
  adjective
• pre-Roman
  adjective
• pro-Roman
  adjective
• pseudo-Roman
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Romans
  plural
• romans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of roman¹

First recorded in 1560–80; from Middle French, French roman; see origin at romance ¹ ( def. )

Origin of Roman²

before 900; < Latin Rōmānus ( see Rome, -an); replacing Middle English Romain < Old French < Latin, as above; replacing Old English Roman ( e ) < Latin, as above

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roman Roman Romans romans

Titled “Fiesta” in drafts, the novel is a roman à clef through and through, a story that may have been news across the Atlantic but rang clear as a church bell through the Latin Quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The trees went up like roman candles, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Did elon musk just hit the roman salute at his inauguration speech?”

From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2025

Every year, the workshop produces hundreds of smaller “bulls,” with roman candles for horns that are carried on someone’s shoulders through the streets of countless small towns in Mexico, sending kids skittering in delight.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2024

“This,” said Dr. Constantine, “is more wildly improbable than any roman policier I have ever read.”

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

His second-quarter touchdown pass to Nacua was the 155th since he joined the Rams in 2021, moving him past Roman Gabriel into first on the team’s all-time list.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

A 2,000-year-old sculpture sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $34.3 million, after a bidding war to set a record for a Roman antiquity.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Roman relies on an intricate arrangement of mirrors and optical components to collect light from distant cosmic objects and direct it toward its two scientific instruments.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

Roman Pavlyuchenko was also unlucky to miss out - 45% of his 20 Premier League goals came as a substitute for Tottenham.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Together they raced over the hills, past Roman aqueducts, highways, and vineyards.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

In this production, the Romans got the last word—which, of course, eventually they did.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Egyptians in antiquity engaged in sword combat for warfare, but also for competition — Romans utilized swords in gladiator events, rituals and duels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

"And that's not just writers who continually return to the Greeks and Romans -- the history, the myths, the characters, the events -- that's also readers. These are ripping good yarns."

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

"The Romans were incredibly fond of oysters," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

“You’d better think twice before you attack us. Romans and Greeks will fight you together. You don’t stand a chance!”

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

This record further emphasizes her leap away from autobiography into songs that are either pure fictions or else lyrically symbolic in ways that don’t act as romans à clef.

From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2020

“I’m sad that this is what America demands as entertainment. We’re the romans, cheering for the lions. ‘Are you not entertained?’”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2019

She added that “The Love Machine” was “not exactly a literary work. But in its own little sub-category of popularly written romans à clef, it shines, like a rhinestone in a trash can.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2019

That “lunacy” is evidenced, for example, by Hester’s efforts to make romantic romans à clef out of Murdoch’s books.

From The New Yorker ● May 10, 2016

The various dialects which sprang from the corruption of the Latin were called by the common name of romans.

From A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers

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Related Words

• classic
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