Origin: Latin suffix -ance
Romance has 14 different meanings across 3 categories:
a relationship between two lovers
"After dating for months, they finally decided to make their romance official by getting engaged."
an exciting and mysterious quality (as of a heroic time or adventure)
"The dusty, sun-drenched corridors of the old castle held a strange romance that made us feel like characters in a forgotten legend."
the group of languages derived from Latin
"The linguistics professor explained that both Italian and French belong to the romance family of languages, not Germanic ones."
a story dealing with love
"She spent her evening curled up on the couch, completely absorbed in a new romance novel that kept her guessing until the very last page."
a novel dealing with idealized events remote from everyday life
"She spent her entire weekend reading a romance about two star-crossed lovers in medieval France, completely forgetting to feed the cat."
A story relating to chivalry; a story involving knights, heroes, adventures, quests, etc.
"The linguist explained that many modern European tongues, including French and Spanish, belong to the Romance family because they evolved directly from spoken Latin in ancient Rome."
The group of languages and cultures which are derived from Vulgar Latin.
In plain English: Romance is a story or situation where two people fall deeply in love with each other.
"They found true romance in their daily walks through the park."
Usage: Use this meaning specifically when referring to literary works or films centered on heroic deeds and medieval settings rather than modern love stories. It often appears in phrases like "medieval romance" to distinguish the genre from contemporary romantic fiction.
have a love affair with
"After years of just talking, they finally decided to begin their romance last summer."
To woo; to court.
"He spent weeks bringing her flowers and writing letters as a way to romance his childhood friend before finally asking her to marry him."
In plain English: To romance someone means to try to win their affection by doing thoughtful and romantic things for them.
"The novel suggests that time and distance will never romance us apart."
Of or dealing with languages or cultures derived from Roman influence and Latin: Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Catalan, Occitan, Corsican, etc.
"The linguistics professor spent the semester analyzing the evolution of Romance languages like Spanish and French to show how they diverged from their shared Latin roots."
In plain English: Romantic describes something that makes you feel deeply in love or emotionally connected to someone special.
"The movie had a very romantic atmosphere that made the audience dream about love."
The word romance entered English via French and Middle English, originally referring to the vernacular languages spoken in France as opposed to Latin. It derives from the Latin root for "Roman," reflecting its early association with stories told in these common tongues rather than scholarly Latin.