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.

---

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

---

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

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

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 Bell, George

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 Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

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 Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

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

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

There were Romanized colonnades along the streets, but the winged bulls of the dromoes, the stucco-work and the tiles, the swaying of carpets from balconies obscured their influence.

From Saul of Tarsus A Tale of the Early Christians by Miller, Elizabeth

“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

"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 Garnett, Richard

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 Bentwich, Norman

To accredit them would make the withdrawal of the Romanizing Banneville less surprising and less irritating to the Curia.

From Letters From Rome on the Council by D?llinger, Johann Joseph Ignaz von

Their party grew in spite of the opposition of low and broad churchmen, who, specially on the publication of Tract XC. by Newman in 1841, declared that its teaching was Romanizing.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4 "England" to "English Finance" by Various