romance

ro•mance

[[t]roʊˈmæns, ˈroʊ mæns[/t]] n. v. -manced, -manc•ing, adj.

1) lit. a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry, exploits, etc., usu. in a historical or imaginary setting

2) lit. a medieval narrative, orig. one in verse and in a Romance language, treating of heroic, fantastic, or supernatural events, often in the form of allegory

3) a made-up story, usu. full of fanciful invention

4) a romantic spirit, sentiment, or the like

5) cv romantic aura, setting, character, or quality

6) a love affair

7) peo (cap.) the Romance languages

8) to indulge in fanciful stories or daydreams

9) to think or talk romantically

10) cvb inf to court or woo romantically

11) to court the favor of; play up to

12) peo (cap.) of, pertaining to, or denoting the group of languages descended from the spoken Latin of the Roman Empire, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian

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Etymology: 1250–1300; ME romaunce Romance language, composition in such a language < OFromance, n. use of fem. of romanz, romans (adj.) written in the vernacular < VL *Rōmānicē (adv.), der. of L Rōmānicus; see Romanic ro•manc′er, n.