Latin (disambiguation)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Latin may refer to:

The ancient world:

• Latin, an ancient language
• Latins, or Latini, an ancient people living in central Italy
• Latin is an adjective that relates to Roman culture, cf. "Latin literature", "Latin writers".
• Wheelock's Latin, a book that teaches the reader the Latin language.
• Western Empire, the part of the Roman Empire in which Latin was the primary language of the administration and the Church (as opposed to the Greek Eastern Empire).

The Middle Ages:

• Latin Church, an alternative naming for the Roman Catholic Church used to distinguish the Latin-speaking Western Church from the Greek-speaking Eastern Church.
• Latin Rite, the original Roman Catholic rite developed in Rome distinguished from other rites developed in Christian groups that later became Roman Catholic.
• Latin Empire, an alternative naming for the Holy Roman Empire since this state became the protector of the Latin-speaking Church (note: the Eastern Romans often called it the Frankish Empire).
• Latin Empire, a Crusader state.
• (Medieval) Latin Europe, a naming for Western Europe (including Germany) which became almost entirely Roman Catholic (this use of Latin Europe is different from the usage described below).

Modern cultural or linguistic concepts:

• the Latin alphabet.
• Latin cultures, a vague cultural concept in Europe and in the Americas.
• "Latin peoples" may be used to refer to
  • The peoples whose mother tongue is a Romance language: see Latin peoples (linguistic).
  • Latin cultures.
• Latin is sometimes used in the United States as a synonym for Latin-American (cf. Latino): Thus a term used for a person of Latin American origin (cf. Hispanic).
• Latin music as a contraction for Latin-American music.

Modern geographical concepts:

• Latin Europe, consisting of much of Western Europe (notably excluding Germany and Scandinavia) as well as Romania and Moldova where languages derived from Latin are spoken.
• Latin America, the portions of the Americas where languages derived from Latin are spoken, including most (not all) of Central and South America but usually excluding Quebec.
• Latin Quarter, various districts and neighborhoods.

[edit] See also

• Ladino
• Pig Latin
• Latin mnemonics
• List of Latin phrases