Romeo

How to spell romeo

5 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce romeo

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does romeo mean?

1. nounA man who is a devoted, passionate, or persistent pursuer of romantic partners.
2. nounThe code word for the letter R in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Romeo in a sentence

• The office romeo sent flowers to half the building.

• The pilot read the registration as romeo for the letter R.

• He fancied himself a great romeo at the dance.

• In the spelling alphabet the letter R is given as romeo.

Where does romeo come from?

Language of origin: Italian

This word comes straight from the name of Romeo Montague, the lovestruck young hero of Shakespeare's tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet', first performed in the 1590s. The name itself is Italian and ultimately derives from the medieval Latin 'romaeus', meaning 'a pilgrim to Rome', since 'Roma' is the Italian and Latin name for the city. By the 1700s English writers were already using 'a Romeo' as a generic label for any ardent male suitor, a sense entirely owed to the play's reputation. The spelling preserves the original Italian form exactly, ending in the vowel cluster '-eo' that trips up writers expecting a more common English ending. The same word was later adopted in the NATO phonetic alphabet as the code word for the letter R, again borrowing the familiar name for its clear, unmistakable sound.

How the word is built

• romeo (proper name of Shakespeare's young lover, used generically)