Latinate

American  

[lat-n-eyt] / ˈlæt nˌeɪt /

adjective

1. of, like, pertaining to, or derived from Latin.

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Latinate British  

/ ˈlætɪˌneɪt /

adjective

1. (of writing, vocabulary, etc) imitative of or derived from Latin

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Etymology

Origin of Latinate

First recorded in 1900–05; Latin + -ate ¹

Explanation

Use the adjective latinate to describe languages, words, or phrases that are derived from Latin. Languages that descended directly from Latin, like Spanish, French, and Italian, are latinate. Although English is not one of these latinate languages, many English words, from auxiliary to vulnerable have a latinate derivation. You might also use fake words that only resemble Latin, with the latinate filler text known as "Lorem Ipsum" that's used to design a layout where future information will be printed.

Example Sentences

The Latinate reference deliberately invokes the transformative 1891 encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” from his predecessor and namesake, Pope Leo XIII, which oriented the church toward the challenges of industrial society and its consequences.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

In the Huntington’s gardens, she helped revise labels for plants connected to Indigenous knowledge — on each, indicating their Indigenous, Spanish, English and scientific Latinate names.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2022

The name may sound Japanese, but it is derived from the Latinate suffix attached to certain plant names to denote a superlative, or something remarkable.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2021

Notwithstanding his Latinate last name, Mendes is scarcely more Hispanic than Bieber: Mendes’ father is a native of Portugal while his mother is from England, and Shawn speaks neither Portuguese nor Spanish.

From Slate • Aug. 30, 2019

Within the “symphony of voices,” Kepler believed that the speed of each planet corresponds to certain notes in the Latinate musical scale popular in his day—do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan