romanz

Old French

Alternative forms

• romans, romant, romauns, roumans, roumant, rommans, rommant, ronmanz

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin Rōma

Proto-Indo-European *-nós

Proto-Italic *-nos

Latin -nus

Latin -ānus

Latin Rōmānus

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-European *-ikos

Proto-Italic *-ikos

Latin -icus

Latin rōmānicus

Proto-Italic *-ēd

Old Latin -ēd

Latin -ē

Vulgar Latin rōmānicē

Old French romanz

From Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in a Roman manner”), from Latin rōmānicus < rōmānus. Forms ending in -t are due to the fact -z often replaces -ts at end of a nominative singular form. In this instance, the -z or -s ending is from the -icē ending of rōmānicē, not the addition of an -s to a word ending in -t. Compare Old Occitan romans, cf. also Romansh rumantsch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ruˈmant͡s/

Noun

romanz oblique singular, m (oblique plural romanz, nominative singular romanz, nominative plural romanz)

1. (usually uncountable) Old French (language)

   Synonym: françois

2. (countable) a story in Old French
3. (countable) account (verbal description of an event)
4. (countable) talking; discussion

Descendants

• French: roman (“novel”) (see there for further descendants)
• French: romand (“Swiss French”)
• → Italian: romanzo
  • → Greek: ρομάντζο (romántzo)
• → Sicilian: rumanzu
• → English: romaunt (archaic)
• → Middle English: romauns, roumance
  • English: romance (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: romans, romance
• → Middle Welsh: ramant
  • Welsh: rhamant

Noun

romanz m

1. oblique plural of romant
2. nominative singular of romant

References

• Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “romans”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.