English
Rome
Rome comes from Middle English Rome, and goes back to Latin Rōma.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CERōma
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*Rūmōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*Rūmureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150Rōm
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Rome
- Englishearliest quotation 1537same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CERōma
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*Rūmōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*Rūmureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150Rōm
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Rome
- Englishearliest quotation 1537same form
Earliest quotation: 1537, T. Starkey: “The wych you perauenture wyl impute to thys defectyon…”
The story
From Middle English Rome, from Old English Rōm, from Proto-West Germanic *Rūmu, from Proto-Germanic *Rūmō and influenced by Late Latin Rōma (‘Rome, Constantinople’), from Classical Latin Rōma (‘Rome’). In Roman mythology, the name was said to derive from Romulus, one of the founders of the city and its first king. The name appears in a wide range of forms in Middle English, including Rom, Room, Roome, and Rombe as well as Rome; by early modern English, it appeared as Rome, Room, and Roome, with the spelling Rome occurring in Shakespeare and common from the early 18th century on. The final spelling was influenced by Norman, Middle French, Anglo-Norman, and Old French Rome.
Linked words
through Latin Rōma
Today it means
name A major city, the capital of Italy and the Italian region of Lazio, located on the Tiber River; the ancient capital of the Roman Empire.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin Rōma / Rome