Roman

Roman of, pertaining to, or characteristic of (ancient) Rome.
Roman alphabet the alphabet used for writing Latin, English, and most European languages, developed in ancient Rome.
Roman Britain Britain during the period ad 43–410, when most of Britain was part of the Roman Empire. The frontier of the Roman province of Britain was eventually established at Hadrian' Wall; the more northerly Antonine Wall was breached and abandoned (c.181).
Roman Catholic Church the part of the Christian Church which acknowledges the Pope as its head, especially as it has developed since the Reformation, and which is the largest Christian Church, dominant particularly in South America and southern Europe. Roman Catholicism differs from Protestantism in the importance it grants to tradition, ritual, and the authority of the Pope as successor to the Apostle St Peter, and especially in its doctrines of papal infallibility (formally defined in 1870) and of the Eucharist (transubstantiation), its celibate male priesthood, its emphasis on confession, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary and other saints.
Roman Empire the empire established by Augustus in 27 bc, which was divided after the death of Theodosius I (ad 395) into the Western Empire and the Eastern or Byzantine Empire (centred on Constantinople). At its greatest extent Roman rule or influence extended from Armenia and Mesopotamia in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west, and from the Rhine and Danube in the north to Egypt and provinces on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Eventually, the sheer extent of the territories led to the collapse of the Western Empire: Rome was sacked by the Visigoths under Alaric in 410, and the last emperor of the West, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476. The Eastern Empire, which was stronger, lasted until 1453.
Roman holiday an occasion on which entertainment or profit is derived from injury or death; originally a holiday for a gladiatorial combat, as in Byron' Childe Harold' Pilgrimage (1812–18), ‘Butchered to make a Roman holiday.’
Roman law the law code of the ancient Romans forming the basis of civil law in many countries today.
Roman numeral any of the letters representing numbers in the Roman numerical system: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1,000. In this system a letter placed after another of greater value adds (thus XVI or xvi is 16), whereas a letter placed before another of greater value subtracts (thus XC is 90).
Roman republic the ancient Roman state from the expulsion of the Etruscan monarchs in 509bc until the assumption of power by Augustus (Octavian) in 27 bc. The republic was dominated by a landed aristocracy, the patricians, who ruled through the advisory Senate and two annually elected chief magistrates or consuls; the plebeians or common people had their own representatives, the tribunes, who in time gained the power of veto over the other magistrates. Dissatisfaction with the Senate's control of government led to civil wars, which culminated in Julius Caesar's brief dictatorship. This established the principle of personal autocracy, and after Caesar's assassination another round of civil war ended with Octavian' assumption of authority.
Roman road one following the line of one made under the Roman empire; typically of military origin, and where possible following the straight route of marching legions.
Roman type a plain upright kind of type used in ordinary print, especially as distinguished from italic and Gothic.

See also Romans, Rome.