Latin language

Latin is a language which was the dominant medium of communication in Europe during the ascendancy of the Roman Empire. Although widespread use of the tongue had declined by the Ninth Century, it remains important in a number of areas. Much vocabulary in Romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese derives from Latin, and the English language, having borrowed from these, especially from Norman French and Latin itself, similarly has a highly Latinate vocabulary. Latin is the liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church, and Latin terminology is still used in the sciences, particularly in medicine, as well as in law.

Latin is a highly synthetic language, using many suffixes to indicate concerns such as number, gender, formality, possession, and tense. Verbs are conjugated, nouns and adjectives declined.