Romano

How to spell romano

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce romano

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does romano mean?

1. nounA hard, sharp, salty Italian cheese, usually grated over pasta and other savoury dishes.

Romano in a sentence

• She grated romano over the steaming bowl of spaghetti.

• The recipe calls for a generous handful of grated romano and a little black pepper.

Where does romano come from?

Language of origin: Italian

This word comes straight from the Italian romano, meaning 'Roman' or 'of Rome', which in turn descends from the Latin Romanus, the adjective formed on Roma, the city of Rome. In Latin Romanus simply meant a person or thing belonging to Rome, and the same root sits behind the English words 'Roman' and 'romance', the latter originally describing stories told in the everyday Roman tongue rather than formal Latin. As a cheese name the word is a clipping of pecorino romano, the hard, salty, aged sheep's-milk cheese traditionally made in the countryside around Rome. English speakers adopted the shortened form during the twentieth century as Italian foods spread across British and North American kitchens. The spelling stays faithful to its Italian source, so the trap is the single internal vowels and the final -o rather than any silent letters.

How the word is built

• roman- (from Latin Romanus: of Rome)
• -o (Italian masculine ending)