Romanian

American  

[roh-mey-nee-uhn, ‑-meyn-yuhn] / roʊˈmeɪ ni ən, ‑ˈmeɪn yən /

Older Spellings, Rumanian,

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Romania.

2. the Romance language of Romania, spoken also in Moldova. Rom, Rom.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Romania, its inhabitants, or the language Romanian.

Romanian British  

/ rəʊˈmeɪnɪən /

noun

1. the official language of Romania, belonging to the Romance group of the Indo-European family

2. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Romania

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adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Romania, its people, or their language

Other Word Forms

• anti-Romanian adjective
• pro-Romanian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Romanian

First recorded in 1825–30 for a rare older spelling; the current spelling, Romanian, was first recorded in 1845–50; Romania ( def. ) + -an ( def. )

Example Sentences

Jude loves a deep, sarcastic, wide-ranging gabfest — as do all Romanian filmmakers, it seems.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

When Londoners were asked in the 2021 census what their "main" language was, the second most-listed language was Romanian, after English, with 159,000 speakers.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

In October Polish and Romanian authorities said they thwarted a Russian plot to send incendiary packages through a Ukrainian courier service, including devices intended to ignite in Bucharest.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Born on 19 February, 1926, in the Romanian city of Lugoj to ethnic Hungarian parents, Kurtag started playing the piano as a young boy.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

“Sorry, poppa! I’ve been meaning to tell you. There’s a little spell on your almanac. In Romanian it’s called . . . well, in Romanian, it’s complicated. Loosely translated, it’s the other-sock spell.”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood