Romanize

American  

[roh-muh-nahyz] / ˈroʊ məˌnaɪz /

especially British, Romanise

verb (used with object)

Romanized, Romanizing

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.

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verb (used without object)

Romanized, Romanizing

1. to conform to Roman Catholic doctrine and practices; to become Roman Catholic.

2. (often lowercase) to follow Roman practices.

Romanize British  

/ ˈrəʊməˌnaɪz /

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

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Other Word Forms

• Romanization
  noun
• Romanizer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Romanize

First recorded in 1600–10; Roman + -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Romanize Romanized Romanizing

It is perhaps fanciful to suggest that we are now suffering the penalty of the failure of Rome to Romanize, that is to say, to civilize their Teutonic neighbours.

From The Unity of Civilization by Various

By alloting the land, the Latin race and Latin tongue would help to Romanize territory already conquered by Roman arms.

From Public Lands and Agrarian Laws of the Roman Republic by Andrew Stephenson

The book commences with an anagram on the lady's name: "Add but an A to Romanize your name Another Pallas is your anagram, Videlicet Maria Nevila Alia Minerva."

From Notes and Queries, Number 54, November 9, 1850 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell

It was possible, it was easy, to Romanize these western peoples.

From The Romanization of Roman Britain by F. (Francis) Haverfield

My son," she said, "I need not tell you not to let them Romanize you.

From Beric the Briton : a Story of the Roman Invasion by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

Zhou Youguang created the Pinyin system of Romanized Chinese, which vastly increased literacy in China and eased the agonies of foreigners studying the language.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2017

Bagel-making was still a skilled trade then, restricted to members of the International Beigel Bakers Union, as the name was Romanized after the organization was founded in New York in 1907.

From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2015

Christ's given name, commonly Romanized as Yeshua, was quite common in first-century Galilee.

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2013

Korean rice cakes, Romanized as tteok, are a staple ingredient in the country’s cuisine.

From Washington Post

It is either the local language of the natives as in the case of charms, or a slightly Romanized form of Greek, Rumanian or Slavonic.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1 "Gichtel, Johann" to "Glory" by Various

“The Presbyterians not only succeeded in Romanizing the spoken Taiwanese language but also provided services such as education and healthcare that other churches did not provide,” she said.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2022

It is clear that Lanfranc had won the O'Briens to the Romanizing side; and Anselm was determined to hold them fast.

From St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh by Hugh Jackson Lawlor

For one hundred and twenty years Palestine had been ground beneath the iron heel of Roman governors and Romanizing tyrants.

From Josephus by Norman Bentwich

As they had lost all hope of resisting him, they calmly accepted the situation, and the foundation of the subsequent Romanizing of the west of Europe was laid.

From The Story of Rome from the Earliest Times to the End of the Republic by Arthur Gilman

"Lycidas" had appeared meanwhile, or was to appear, and its bold denunciation of the Romanizing clergy might well offend the ruling powers.

From Life of John Milton by Richard Garnett