Latin

1 of 2

adjective

Lat·​in ˈla-tᵊn 

1

a

: of, relating to, or composed in Latin

b

: romance

2

: of or relating to Latium or the Latins

3

: of or relating to the part of the Catholic Church that until recently used a Latin rite and forms the patriarchate of the pope

4

: of or relating to the peoples or countries using Romance languages

specifically : of or relating to the peoples or countries of Latin America

Latin

2 of 2

noun

1

: the Italic language of ancient Latium and of Rome and until modern times the dominant language of school, church, and state in western Europe see Indo-European Languages Table

2

: a member of the people of ancient Latium

3

: a Catholic of the Latin rite

4

: a member of one of the Latin peoples

specifically : a native or inhabitant of Latin America

5

: latin alphabet

Examples of Latin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In Latin America, meanwhile, inDrive Money, a financial services vertical of global ride-hailing platform inDrive, is also leveraging alternative data to facilitate loan access to drivers and unlock lending for the underbanked in Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia and Peru. —Murtaza Ali, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Related Stories The Match Factory has closed deals in key territories including Italy (Officine UBU), Spain (Karma Films), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Switzerland (Trigon-Film), Turkey (Bir Film), Latin America (Cine Canibal), and Indonesia (PT Falcon). —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 10 June 2025

In addition, Fifth Season has landed further deals for seasons one and two with The Walt Disney Company (Greece, Cyprus, Malta), Sony Pictures Television (Latin America) and Disney (Balkans). —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 10 June 2025

Colombia’s army is the largest and most professional in Latin America, the recipient of billions dollars in aid from the United States. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old English, from Latin Latinus, from Latium, ancient country of Italy

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Latin

• Late Latin
• Latin alphabet
• Latin-American
• Latin Americanist
• Latin cross
• Latin square
• Low Latin
• Medieval Latin
• Neo-Latin
• New Latin
• Old Latin
• Vulgar Latin

Rhymes for Latin

• batten
• craton
• fatten
• flatten
• gratin
• gratton
• lattin
• matin
• paten
• patten
• platen
• ratan

Kids Definition

Latin

1 of 2 adjective

Lat·​in ˈlat-ᵊn 

1

a

: of, relating to, or composed in Latin

Latin grammar

b

: romance

Latin languages

2

: of or relating to that part of the Catholic Church that formerly used a Latin rite

3

: of, relating to, or characteristic of the countries or peoples of Latin America

Latin

2 of 2 noun

1

: the Italic language of ancient Rome

2

: an ancient Roman

3

: a member of one of the peoples speaking Romance languages

especially : a person born or living in Latin America