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

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Etymology

Origin of Romanize

First recorded in 1600–10; Roman + -ize

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Romanize Romanized Romanizing

Returning home, he found the Roman governor, Quintilius Varus, making efforts to Romanize the German tribes near the Rhine.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 Amiel to Atrauli 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

Dr. Webster also defines Romanize, "To Latinize; to conform to Romish opinions."

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

This enabled her, long afterward, to Romanize Germany and England in some degree, and as it were at second-hand, by the arms of Charlemagne and William.

From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 1 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne

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

The earliest written version of the name Jesus is Romanized today as Iesous.

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2013

The books present the dialogue in four versions – Urdu, Hindi, Romanized Urdu and an English translation and require “about 20 stages of proof-reading,” Ms. Kabir said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2012

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

From Washington Post

They became slowly Romanized, but developed little town life and are rarely mentioned in history.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" 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

Agricola’s Romanizing work must have made great changes in dress as in policy.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various

The influence of the Normans in Romanizing our language has been vastly overrated.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 15, January, 1859 by Various

Josephus, though he knew of the city's Romanizing leanings, had negligently or deliberately failed to occupy it, so that the place was lost without a blow.

From Josephus by Norman Bentwich

"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

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