Latin
/ˈlæt.ɪn/adjective, noun
Latin is spelled L-A-T-I-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, Latin means “Of or relating to Latin: the language spoken in ancient Rome and other cities of Latium” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in Latin?
| Letters | 5: L-A-T-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 30 times per million words; the 3,114th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is Latin?
Latin appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,114th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce Latin?
- UK /ˈlæt.ɪn/
- US /ˈlæt.ɪn/
- US [ˈlæt.n̩]
Latin has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-Latin.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Grendelkhan-Latin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Latin
- Latins plural
- Latin@s plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Latin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to Latin: the language spoken in ancient Rome and other cities of Latium.
- 2
Of or relating to the script of the language spoken in ancient Rome and many modern alphabets.
- 3
Of or relating to ancient Rome or its Empire.
- 4
Of or relating to Latium (modern Lazio), the region around Rome.
- 5
Of or relating to the customs and people descended from the ancient Romans and their Empire.
- 6
Of or from Latin America or of Latin American culture.
- 7
Roman Catholic; of or pertaining to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.
noun
- 1
A person native to ancient Rome or its Empire.
- 2
A member of an Italic tribe that included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome, and from about 1000 BCE inhabited the region known as Old Latium.
- 3
A person from one of the modern European countries (including Italy, Spain etc.) whose language is descended from Latin.
- 4
A person from Latin America.
- 5
A person adhering to Roman Catholic practice.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Latin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | latin |
| German | lateinisch , römisch , latinisch , romanisch , lateinamerikanisch , Römer |
| Portuguese | latino , romano , latino-americano |
| Spanish | latín , romano , latino |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does Latin come from?
From Middle English Latyn, Latyne, Latin, from Old French latin, latyn, from Latin latīnus, from Latium (“the region around Rome”) + -īnus (adjective suffix). Displaced or merged with Old English Lǣden. Doublet of Ladin and Ladino.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).