Romanic

Romanic is an English adjective with several historical senses. It derives from the Latin Romanicus and has been used to mean relating to Rome or the Roman Empire, as well as relating to the Romance languages and their ancestors.

In current usage, the sense relating to Rome is typically expressed with Roman rather than romanic (for example, Roman law, Roman history). The sense relating to the Romance languages—languages that descended from Latin—has largely shifted to the term Romance (as in Romance languages or Romance philology). Romanic appears mainly in older scholarly works or in specific technical contexts.

Because of potential confusion, romanic should not be used to refer to the Romani people or their language; that term is Romani. Likewise, it is not the preferred descriptor for the medieval architectural style, which is usually called Romanesque. When encountered in texts, romanic often signals dated scholarship or a broad etymological discussion.

In summary, romanic is a historical adjective with competing senses: related to Rome or to Rome’s Empire, and (less commonly in modern language) to the Romance languages. Contemporary readers typically substitute Roman or Romance for clarity.

See also: Romance languages; Roman law; Romani.