Latin language

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Introduction & Top Questions References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

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Latin inscription

Italic languages

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Latin language summary

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Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,

Which Religion Is the Oldest?

Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket

Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin

Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine

Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro

Why Is Christmas in December?

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

Scottish fold cat. A genetic mutation caused (in the original cat-1961) the ears to bend forward and down.

Shorthair Cat Breeds

Latin language: References & Edit History

More Articles On This Topic

Assorted References

major treatment
- In Romance languages: Latin and the development of the Romance languages
encyclopaedia and dictionary development
- In encyclopaedia: Three stages of development
importance in education
- In education: Education in the later Roman Empire

influence of

Aelfric
- In education: Influences of the Carolingian renaissance abroad
Charlemagne
- In Charlemagne: Cultural revival
Comenius
- In John Amos Comenius: Educational reform
- In education: The pedagogy of Comenius
Ritschl
- In F.W. Ritschl
Sturm
- In Johannes Sturm
Terence
- In Terence
Tertullian
- In Tertullian

relationship to Indo-European languages

European languages

Albanian
- In Albanian language: Vocabulary and contacts
Basque
- In Basque language: Vocabulary
Celtic
- In Celtic languages: Relationships and ancient contacts of Celtic
- In Celtic languages: British languages
English
- In English language: Vocabulary
- In English language: Transition from Middle English to Early Modern English
French
- In French language: Characteristics
Germanic
- In West Germanic languages: History
Italic
- In Italic languages: Latin
Romance
- In Romance languages
- In Romance languages: Latin inheritance
Romanian
- In Romanian language
Welsh
- In Wales: Roman Wales (1st–4th centuries)

Tocharian
- In Tocharian languages: Linguistic characteristics

significance in

North Africa
- In North Africa: Extent of Romanization
Renaissance Europe
- In history of Europe: The humanities
- In history of Europe: The growth of vernacular literature
Roman history
- In history of Europe: Romans
- In ancient Rome: Latinization

use in

dictionaries
- In dictionary: From Classical times to 1604
- In dictionary: Since 1828
documents
- In diplomatics: Physical appearance of documents
- In diplomatics: The English royal chancery
encyclopaedias
- In encyclopaedia: Language
nonfictional prose
- In nonfictional prose: Style
Roman Catholic liturgy
- In St. Damasus I
- In Roman Catholicism: The mass

use of

alphabet
- In alphabet: Theories explaining diffusion
grammar
- In grammar: Ancient and medieval grammars
- In linguistics: The European Middle Ages
punctuation
- In punctuation: Punctuation in Greek and Latin to 1600
syntax
- In syntax
- In calligraphy: Latin-alphabet handwriting

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Add new Web site: Brigham Young University - Department of Linguistics - The History of the Latin Language.	Grace Young	Oct 22, 2024
	Add new Web site: Live Science - Is Latin a dead language?	Gloria Lotha	Mar 29, 2024
	Add new Web site: UNRV - Roman Latin Language.	Gloria Lotha	Nov 09, 2023
	Add new Web site: BYU Department of Linguistics - The History of the Latin Language.	Gloria Lotha	Aug 15, 2023
	Add new Web site: The University of Texas at Austin - The College of Liberal Arts - Linguistic Research Center - Latin Online.	Gloria Lotha	Apr 27, 2023
	Add new Web site: Academia - The Latin Language as a Universal Cultural Code.	Emily Rodriguez	Jan 05, 2023
	Add new Web site: Academia - The Latin language as a Universal Cultural Code.	Emily Rodriguez	Aug 22, 2022
	Top Questions updated.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 29, 2021
	Corrected display issue.	Adam Augustyn	Jun 08, 2021
	Corrected display issue.	Adam Augustyn	Dec 04, 2019
	Article thoroughly revised.	Kathleen Kuiper Rebecca Posner	Nov 30, 2015
	Media added.	Amy Tikkanen	Jan 04, 2011
	Added new Web site: Omniglot - Latin Language.	Deepti Mahajan	Nov 21, 2008
	Article revised and updated.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Dec 05, 2007
	Added new Web site: Essays on Morphology.	Marco Sampaolo	Jun 23, 2006
	Added new Web site: Essays on Morphology.	Marco Sampaolo	Jun 23, 2006
	Added new Web site: Latin Grammar - Verb Conjugation and Noun Declension.	Gloria Lotha	Jun 16, 2006
	Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 20, 1998