- 1n/ˈlæt.ɪn/the Latin language拉丁文／拉丁語
The language that people spoke and wrote in ancient Rome. Nobody speaks it as a first language now, but it is still taught, still used in some church services, and a very large number of English words came from it.
文法不可數名詞：通常不加 a/an，也不加 -s 來表示複數。
Latin 指古羅馬人講、也用來寫的那個語言。今天沒有人把它當母語在講。但它並沒有消失。學校還在教它。法律、醫學、生物學也還在用它的詞。天主教有些儀式到現在還用拉丁文。英文裡更有大量單字是從拉丁文來的。所以你查字典時常會看到 from Latin 這樣的說明。要注意 Latin 開頭一定大寫，因為它是語言的名字。
示範例句 · Example
Mei is taking Latin this year because she wants to study medicine later.
中文翻譯美今年在修拉丁文，因為她想要之後讀醫學。
Latin is the language of ancient Rome. It is not used for everyday talking today. It is still taught in schools and universities. It is still used inside law words, medical words and the scientific names of plants and animals. Some Catholic services are still held in it. When a dictionary says a word comes from Latin, it means the word started there. The name of a language always takes a capital letter, so this word is never written with a small l.
常見搭配
study / take Latin
修拉丁文這門課
to learn Latin as a school subject
Sam took Latin for two years in high school.
in Latin
用拉丁文（寫或說）
written or spoken using the Latin language
The song at the end was sung in Latin.
come from Latin
源自拉丁文
to have started as a Latin word
The word video comes from Latin.
the Latin name (of a plant or animal)
拉丁學名
the official scientific name, the same in every country
Nobody knew the flower's Latin name, so we looked it up.
- 2a/ˈlæt.ɪn/in or about Latin拉丁文的
Connected with the Latin language: written in Latin, or about Latin, as in a Latin word, a Latin phrase, a Latin inscription, or a Latin class.
這個 Latin 是形容詞，放在名詞前面。它說的是「這樣東西跟拉丁文有關」。a Latin inscription 就是刻著拉丁文的碑文。a Latin phrase 是一句拉丁文。Latin grammar 是拉丁文的文法。它講的是語言本身，不是拉丁美洲。兩個意思拼法一模一樣。要判斷是哪一個，就看後面接什麼名詞。看到 Latin dictionary，那是語言。看到 Latin music，那多半是拉丁美洲。
This is the adjective use, and it sits in front of a noun. It tells you that the thing is in Latin or is about Latin. A Latin inscription is writing cut into stone in the Latin language. Latin grammar means the grammar of that language. The same spelling has other jobs, so the noun after it is what tells you which one you are reading. Latin music points to Latin America; Latin dictionary points to the language.
常見搭配
a Latin phrase
一句拉丁文片語
a short group of words in Latin, often used inside English
The judge used a Latin phrase that nobody in the room understood.
a Latin inscription
拉丁文刻字、碑文
words in Latin cut into stone or metal
The stone bench has a Latin inscription along one side.
Latin grammar
拉丁文文法
the grammar rules of the Latin language
Latin grammar looks hard at first, but it is very regular.
- 3n/ˈlæt.ɪn/a Latin American person拉丁美洲人
A person from Latin America — that is, from Mexico, Central or South America, or the Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking Caribbean. The plural is Latins.
文法可數名詞：前面可以加 a/an，要表示複數時常常加 -s。
這是可數名詞：a Latin、two Latins。指從拉丁美洲來的人。它常出現在把一大群人跟另一大群人並排比較的句子裡，像 Latins and Europeans。要說得清楚一點，也可以寫 a Latin American，意思一樣，而且不會被讀成語言。另外還有 Latino、Latina 這兩個字，指的也是同一個地區的人。單用 Latin 指人時，開頭一樣要大寫。
This is a countable noun for a person: a Latin, two Latins. It names where someone comes from, in the same way that European or Asian can. Writers often use it when they are setting one large group of people beside another. When you want to be clear, Latin American says the same thing and leaves no room for the language reading. Latino and Latina are also used for people, and they carry the same region.
常見搭配
a Latin from + place
來自某地的拉丁美洲人
used to say which Latin American place a person comes from
He was a Latin from Lima who had lived in Taipei for years.
Latins and Europeans
拉丁美洲人與歐洲人（對舉）
used when writers set the two groups side by side
The book asks whether Latins and Europeans read the same poem differently.
- 4a/ˈlæt.ɪn/from Latin America拉丁美洲的
Coming from Latin America, or connected with its people, music, dancing and food. Latin America means Mexico, Central and South America, and the parts of the Caribbean where Spanish or Portuguese is spoken.
這個 Latin 講的是拉丁美洲。Latin music、Latin dance、Latin food 都是這個用法。範圍包含墨西哥、中美洲、南美洲，還有加勒比海講西班牙文和葡萄牙文的地方。這些地方的語言確實是從拉丁文長出來的。可是實際使用時，這條線已經很遠。你聽到 Latin music，腦中出現的是舞曲和鼓，不是古羅馬。判斷是哪個意思，一樣看後面接什麼名詞。
This adjective points to a part of the world, not to the old language. You meet it most often in front of words like music, dance, food, pop and rhythm. The link back to the Latin language is real but distant: those countries speak Spanish and Portuguese, which grew out of Latin. A listener hearing Latin music does not think about ancient Rome at all. Note that our source dictionary defines this one as South America; the wider Latin America is what the word actually covers.
常見搭配
Latin music
拉丁音樂
music from Latin America, such as salsa or reggaeton
The café plays Latin music on Saturday nights.
Latin dance
拉丁舞
dances that came from Latin America, such as salsa or cha-cha
She has taught Latin dance for ten years.
Latin rhythms
拉丁節奏
the beat patterns typical of Latin American music
The song mixes Latin rhythms with a slow guitar.
意思相近
Latin AmericanHispanic
- 5n/ˈlæt.ɪn/a person from Spain, Italy, etc南歐拉丁民族的人
正式A person from a southern European country whose language grew out of Latin, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy or France. The plural is Latins.
文法可數名詞：前面可以加 a/an，要表示複數時常常加 -s。
這個 Latin 指的是南歐那些語言源自拉丁文的國家的人：西班牙、葡萄牙、義大利、法國。複數是 Latins。它多半出現在拿民族互相比較的句子裡，像 Latins and Germans。這是把好幾個國家看成同一個文化圈的說法。所以它不會告訴你這個人來自哪一國。想講單一國家的人，直接說 an Italian、a Spaniard 更清楚。這個名詞在舊書和評論文章裡比較常遇到。
This countable noun names a person by that large grouping. It appears mostly where a writer is comparing whole peoples, as in Latins and Germans. It treats several nations as one cultural block, so it says nothing about which country the person is from. When you mean one country, the country word is clearer: an Italian, a Spaniard, a Portuguese woman. Modern writers meet this noun more often in older books than in new ones.
常見搭配
Latins and Teutons / Germans
拉丁民族與日耳曼民族（對舉）
the two large groupings of European peoples, set against each other
The old study compares Latins and Teutons page after page.
modern Latins
現代的拉丁民族
people of these countries today, as against the ancient Romans
The writer separates modern Latins from ancient ones.
意思相近
southern European
意思相反
Teutonnortherner
- 6a/ˈlæt.ɪn/of Spain, Italy, France, etc南歐拉丁語系國家的
Belonging to the southern European countries whose languages grew out of Latin — Spain, Portugal, Italy, France — or to the customs and habits that writers connect with them.
這個 Latin 指的是南歐那一群國家：西班牙、葡萄牙、義大利、法國。它們的共同點是語言都從拉丁文長出來。作者用這個字，多半是要把這群國家當成一個文化圈來談。常見的句型是拿它跟北歐或日耳曼語系的國家對照。它可以指語言的來源，也可以指飲食、家庭、生活步調那一類的習慣。因為範圍很大，它幾乎不會告訴你某一國的細節。
This use puts several countries into one group and treats them as sharing something. The thing they share is that their languages all came out of Latin. Writers use it when they set that group against another one, such as the northern or German-speaking countries. It can point at language history, or at food, family life and habits. It is a broad grouping, so it says little about any one country.
常見搭配
Latin countries
南歐拉丁語系國家
the southern European countries whose languages came from Latin
Lunch is longer in most Latin countries.
Latin languages
拉丁語系的語言
languages that developed from Latin, such as Spanish and Italian
Latin languages share hundreds of everyday words.
a Latin temperament
南歐式的性情
a way of behaving that writers link with southern Europe
The article talks about a Latin temperament, though it admits the idea is rough.
用法接近
southern European
意思相反
GermanicSlavic
原始詞典資料16 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Latinadj詞源 1/ˈlæt.ɪn/
- 1
Of or relating to Latin: the language spoken in ancient Rome and other cities of Latium.
- Africa was the natural leader because there the number of Christians who were of Roman origin and Latin speech was probably far greater than in so cosmopolitan a city as Rome.
- 2
Of or relating to the script of the language spoken in ancient Rome and many modern alphabets.
- The Serbo-Croatian incunabula printed in Latin letters are indubitably the products of a very modest establishment.
- 3
Of or relating to ancient Rome or its Empire.
- The earliest Latin culture of Ireland was heavily indebted to that of Britain[…]
- 4
Of or relating to Latium (modern Lazio), the region around Rome.
- From the Campagna and the Latin hills, the flame of rebellion spread to Antium and Terracina, and to the most remote allies of the Romans, the cities of the Campanian plains.
- 5
Of or relating to the customs and people descended from the ancient Romans and their Empire.
- Major for joy, Minor for sadness, is apparently a significance which the German nations read into these scales; while the Semitic, Latin, and Slavic nations do not share this conception.
- Therefore, although Portugal is a Latin culture, the significant African influence in Brazil creates a culture that cannot be defined simply as Latin; consequently, Brazilians prefer to define themselves as South American[…]
- 6
Of or from Latin America or of Latin American culture.
- As such, today's Latin music is a synthesis of European, African, and the few indigenous elements that remain.
- 7
ChristianityRoman Catholic; of or pertaining to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.
- The Latin bishop now took the Greek bishop by the hand and conducted him to his throne[…]
Latinname詞源 2/ˈlæt.ɪn/
- 1
The language of the ancient Romans, other Latins and of the Roman Catholic church, especially Classical Latin.
- Supper being over, the lawyer took his leave, and the doctor began to ſound the learned clerk reſpecting his proficiency in the dead languages. "As to dead languages," replied the ſchoolmafter, "I was once a vaſt pretty ſcholar indeed, but want of exercise has made me main ſlack—I can't get over my ground as I uſed to do. Then as to the t'other dead fellow, I could never greek it at all, that's flat. And, Lord bleſs you! my Latin is of no more uſe to me here than—than—" Here he ſtuck for want of a ſimile; when Mr. Le Dupe helped him out by ſaying, "that it is to a young man at college, where it is conſidered a pedantic inſult, and an unpardonable bore, to utter a Latin ſentence."
- To Hall [Robert A. Hall, Jr.], the development would be something as follows: Latin > Proto-Romance (dated late Republic and Early Empire) > Proto-Continental Romance > Proto-Italo-Western Romance (to which Hall would limit the term "Vulgar Latin") > Proto-Western Romance > Proto-Gallo Romance, etc. Each of these main divisions splits off into further languages: Latin > Classical Latin; Proto-Romance > Proto-Southern Romance > Sardinian, Lucianian, Sicilian; Proto-Continental Romance > Proto-Eastern Romance > Proto-Balkan Romance, etc.
- 2
The Latin alphabet or writing system.
- 3
mediaprintingpublishingThe nonsense placeholder text (often based on real Latin) used in greeking.
Latinnoun詞源 2/ˈlæt.ɪn/
- 1
historicalA person native to ancient Rome or its Empire.
- This appears incontestably from the manner in which the Latins wrote Greek words and names[…]
- 2
historicalA 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.
- No; the test of the contrast between modern Latins and modern Teutons is exactly like the test of the contrast between modern Latins and ancient Latins.
- Latins are always conspicuously dangerous when they are serving an unpopular cause for money.
- 4
A person from Latin America.
- In the use of patent medicine the average Latin resembles the American of fifty years ago, who generally had a bottle of some concoction on which he depended whenever he felt out of sorts.
- A great country will be when men and women, Africans and Europeans and Latins and Asians are accepted as human, as valuable
- 5
ChristianityA person adhering to Roman Catholic practice.
- The modern Latins have been in the habit of blaming the Greek and other Eastern Liturgies for not consecrating by the recital of OUR SAVIOUR'S words of Institution[…]
Latinname詞源 3/ˈlæt.ɪn/
- 1
A surname from Middle English.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。