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Romanize

[roh-muh-nahyz]
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verb (used with object), Ro·man·ized, Ro·man·iz·ing.
  1. to make Roman Catholic.
  2. (often lowercase) to make Roman in character.
  3. (often lowercase) to render in the Latin alphabet, especially a language traditionally written in a different system, as Chinese or Japanese.
verb (used without object), Ro·man·ized, Ro·man·iz·ing.
  1. to conform to Roman Catholic doctrine and practices; to become Roman Catholic.
  2. (often lowercase) to follow Roman practices.
Also especially British, Ro·man·ise.

Origin of Romanize

First recorded in 1600–10; Roman + -ize
Related formsRo·man·i·za·tion, nounRo·man·iz·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for romanize

Historical Examples

  • The church and the nation, however, were strongly Protestant and were soon alarmed by his efforts to Romanize the country.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4

    Various

  • The Romans gave us Christianity and the rudiments of civilization, but their attempts to Romanize us met with little success.

    Needlework As Art

    Marian Alford

  • The attempt in the nineteenth century to Romanize our theories of liability involved a Romanized will-theory of contract.

British Dictionary definitions for romanize

Romanize

Romanise

verb
  1. (tr) to impart a Roman Catholic character to (a ceremony, practice, etc)
  2. (intr) to be converted to Roman Catholicism
  3. (tr) to transcribe or transliterate (a language) into the Roman alphabet
  4. to make Roman in character, allegiance, style, etc
Derived FormsRomanization or Romanisation, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012