6  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Romance  \Ro*mance"\,  n.  [OE.  romance,  romant,  romaunt,  OF 
  romanz,  romans,  romant,  roman,  F.  roman,  romance,  fr  LL 
  Romanice  in  the  Roman  language,  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  i.  e., 
  in  the  vulgar  language  which  sprang  from  Latin,  the  language 
  of  the  Romans,  and  hence  applied  to  fictitious  compositions 
  written  in  this  vulgar  tongue;  fr  L.  Romanicus  Roman,  fr 
  Romanus  See  {Roman},  and  cf  {Romanic},  {Romaunt}, 
  {Romansch},  {Romanza}.] 
  1.  A  species  of  fictitious  writing,  originally  composed  in 
  meter  in  the  Romance  dialects,  and  afterward  in  prose, 
  such  as  the  tales  of  the  court  of  Arthur,  and  of  Amadis  of 
  Gaul;  hence  any  fictitious  and  wonderful  tale;  a  sort  of 
  novel,  especially  one  which  treats  of  surprising 
  adventures  usually  befalling  a  hero  or  a  heroine;  a  tale 
  of  extravagant  adventures,  of  love,  and  the  like 
  ``Romances  that  been  royal.''  --Chaucer. 
 
  Upon  these  three  columns  --  chivalry,  gallantry,  and 
  religion  --  repose  the  fictions  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
  especially  those  known  as  romances.  These  such  as 
  we  now  know  them  and  such  as  display  the 
  characteristics  above  mentioned,  were  originally 
  metrical,  and  chiefly  written  by  nations  of  the 
  north  of  France.  --Hallam. 
 
  2.  An  adventure,  or  series  of  extraordinary  events, 
  resembling  those  narrated  in  romances;  as  his  courtship, 
  or  his  life,  was  a  romance. 
 
  3.  A  dreamy,  imaginative  habit  of  mind;  a  disposition  to 
  ignore  what  is  real;  as  a  girl  full  of  romance. 
 
  4.  The  languages,  or  rather  the  several  dialects,  which  were 
  originally  forms  of  popular  or  vulgar  Latin,  and  have  now 
  developed  into  Italian.  Spanish,  French,  etc  (called  the 
  Romanic  languages). 
 
  5.  (Mus.)  A  short  lyric  tale  set  to  music;  a  song  or  short 
  instrumental  piece  in  ballad  style;  a  romanza. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Romance  \Ro*mance"\,  a. 
  Of  or  pertaining  to  the  language  or  dialects  known  as 
  Romance. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Romance  \Ro*mance"\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Romanced};  p.  pr  & 
  vb  n.  {Romancing}.] 
  To  write  or  tell  romances;  to  indulge  in  extravagant  stories. 
 
  A  very  brave  officer,  but  apt  to  romance.  --Walpole. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  Romance 
  adj  :  relating  to  languages  derived  from  Latin;  "Romance 
  languages"  [syn:  {Romance},  {Latin}] 
  n  1:  a  relationship  between  two  lovers  [syn:  {love  affair}] 
  2:  an  exciting  and  mysterious  quality  (as  of  a  heroic  time  or 
  adventure)  [syn:  {romanticism}] 
  3:  the  group  of  languages  derived  from  Latin  [syn:  {Romance},  {Romance 
  language},  {Latinian  language}] 
  4:  a  story  dealing  with  love  [syn:  {love  story}] 
  5:  a  novel  dealing  with  idealized  events  remote  from  everyday 
  life 
  v  1:  make  amorous  advances  towards;  "john  is  courting  Mary"  [syn: 
  {woo},  {court},  {solicit}] 
  2:  have  a  love  affair  with 
  3:  talk  amorously;  "The  guys  always  try  to  chat  up  the  new 
  secretaries";  "My  husband  never  flirts  with  other  women" 
  [syn:  {chat  up},  {flirt},  {dally},  {coquet},  {coquette},  {philander}, 
  {mash}] 
  4:  tell  romantic  or  exaggerated  lies;  "This  author  romanced  his 
  trip  to  an  exotic  country" 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Romance,  AR 
  Zip  code(s):  72136 
  Romance,  WV 
  Zip  code(s):  25248 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  ROMANCE,  n.  Fiction  that  owes  no  allegiance  to  the  God  of  Things  as 
  They  Are  In  the  novel  the  writer's  thought  is  tethered  to 
  probability,  as  a  domestic  horse  to  the  hitching-post,  but  in  romance 
  it  ranges  at  will  over  the  entire  region  of  the  imagination  --  free 
  lawless,  immune  to  bit  and  rein.  Your  novelist  is  a  poor  creature,  as 
  Carlyle  might  say  --  a  mere  reporter.  He  may  invent  his  characters 
  and  plot,  but  he  must  not  imagine  anything  taking  place  that  might  not 
  occur,  albeit  his  entire  narrative  is  candidly  a  lie.  Why  he  imposes 
  this  hard  condition  on  himself,  and  "drags  at  each  remove  a 
  lengthening  chain"  of  his  own  forging  he  can  explain  in  ten  thick 
  volumes  without  illuminating  by  so  much  as  a  candle's  ray  the  black 
  profound  of  his  own  ignorance  of  the  matter.  There  are  great  novels, 
  for  great  writers  have  "laid  waste  their  powers"  to  write  them  but  it 
  remains  true  that  far  and  away  the  most  fascinating  fiction  that  we 
  have  is  "The  Thousand  and  One  Nights." 
 
 

browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
or search   thesauri dictionary search words