Толковый словарь английского языка Oxford English Reference - romance

n., adj., & v. --n. also disp. 1 an atmosphere or tendency characterized by a sense of remoteness from or idealization of everyday life. 2 a a prevailing sense of wonder or mystery surrounding the mutual attraction in a love affair. b sentimental or idealized love. c a love affair. 3 a a literary genre with romantic love or highly imaginative unrealistic episodes forming the central theme. b a work of this genre. 4 a medieval tale, usu. in verse, of some hero of chivalry, of the kind common in the Romance languages. 5 a exaggeration or picturesque falsehood. b an instance of this. 6 (Romance) the languages descended from Latin regarded collectively. 7 Mus. a short informal piece. --adj. (Romance) of any of the languages descended from Latin (French, Italian, Spanish, etc.). --v. 1 intr. exaggerate or distort the truth, esp. fantastically. 2 tr. court, woo. Etymology: ME f. OF romanz, -ans, -ance, ult. f. L Romanicus ROMANIC