Roman Type Is Named After Rome, and It Is the Default
Roman means of Rome. In typography it names upright type, as opposed to slanted italic.
Roman means belonging to Rome, ancient or modern. In typography it also names the upright form of a typeface, as opposed to *italic* — and both are named after places: roman letters were modelled on inscriptions in Rome, italic on a cursive hand from Italy. Roman is the default, which is why the whole of this sentence is set in it. *Roman numerals* use letters for numbers, and lowercase *roman à clef* is French for a novel with real people under invented names.
- Of Rome. *Roman ruins.*
- Upright type. *Set in roman.*
- Roman numerals. *IV, IX, XL.*
- Italic — the slanted counterpart. *Italic.*
- Latin — *Romanus*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | Roman | Roman law. |
| Noun | Roman | A Roman. |
| Typography | roman | Roman type. |
| Counterpart | italic | Italic. |
| Latin | Romanus | Roman. |
- The Roman road runs straight for miles.History.
- Quotations are set in roman, not italic.Typography.
- The chapter numbers are Roman numerals.Numbers.
Roman numerals
- I, V, X — one, five, ten
- L, C — fifty, one hundred
- D, M — five hundred, one thousand
- Subtractive pairs — IV is four, IX is nine, XL is forty
- No zero — the system has no symbol for it at all
Latin *Romanus*, of Rome. The typographic sense dates from the 1500s, from letterforms modelled on Roman inscriptions.
Why is upright type called roman?
Because the letterforms were modelled on classical Roman inscriptions, while italic came from an Italian cursive hand.
Do Roman numerals have a zero?
No. The system has no symbol for zero, which is one reason it is poorly suited to arithmetic.