romance
romance Lexical Profile
romance Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A feeling of excitement, mystery, and emotional attraction associated with love, or a love affair between two people.
"Their summer romance blossomed into a lifelong partnership after they graduated from college."
A literary genre or work of fiction, film, or drama that focuses primarily on the romantic love and emotional relationship of its main characters.
"The bookstore has an entire aisle dedicated to historical romance and contemporary fiction."
A quality of picturesque charm, idealized mystery, or heroic adventure surrounding a place, era, or activity.
"Many early twentieth-century writers were captivated by the romance of long-distance train travel."
A medieval narrative, originally in verse and later in prose, recounting the marvelous adventures and courtly love of chivalrous knights and heroes.
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the finest surviving examples of a Middle English Arthurian romance."
• verb
To court, woo, or seek the affection of someone with romantic attention and gestures.
"He spent months trying to romance her with handwritten letters and candlelit dinners."
To seek the favor, patronage, or cooperation of a client, investor, or partner through flattering attention and hospitality.
"The firm's executives flew to Tokyo to romance potential investors ahead of the product launch."
• Rhymes for romance
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French 'romanz', which originally meant 'written in the vernacular Romance language' (from Vulgar Latin 'romanice') as opposed to scholarly Latin. Because popular medieval tales of chivalric adventure and courtly love were composed in the vernacular rather than Latin, the word gradually came to mean a love story or amorous relationship.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.