Lat|in

Lat|in «LAT uhn», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. the language of the ancient Romans or any one of the later varieties, such as that written by scholars through the Middle Ages. Medieval Latin and New Latin are still used in official documents of the Roman Catholic Church.

2. a member of the peoples whose languages came from Latin: »

The Italians, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanians are Latins.

3. a native or inhabitant of Latium or of ancient Rome.

4. = Roman Catholic. (Cf. ↑Roman Catholic)

5. = Latin American (Cf. ↑Latin American): »

How does the generality of Latins regard the political status of Puerto Rico? (Saturday Review).

–adj.

1. of Latin; in Latin: »

Latin poetry, Latgrammar, a Latin scholar.

2. of the Latin peoples or their languages.

3. of Latium or its people; ancient Roman.

4. = Roman Catholic. (Cf. ↑Roman Catholic)

5. = Latin-American (Cf. ↑Latin-American): »

Brazil is not just the most important Latin country for us—it's vital to our whole Western Hemisphere (Wall Street Journal).

Abbr: Lat.

╂[< Latin Latīnus of Latium, an ancient country in Italy that included Rome]