|
| nativename = ''Lingua latīna''
| pronunciation = {{IPA-la|laˈtiːna|}}
| states = {{ublist|[[Latium]] |[[Roman Kingdom]]{{\}}[[Roman Republic|Republic]]{{\}}[[Roman Empire|Empire]] |{{hlist|[[Early modern Europe]]}} |[[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]] {{smaller|(''[[lingua franca]]'')}} |[[Vatican City]]}}
| ethnicity = [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]]
| era = [[Vulgar Latin]] developed into [[Romance languages]], 6th to 9th centuries; the formal language continued as the scholarly ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Catholic countries and medieval Europe and as the [[sacred language|liturgical language]] of the [[Catholic Church]].
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3 = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| script = [[Latin alphabet]] <!-- needed to prevent default link to Latin script-->
| nation = {{ublist|[[Holy See]]|[[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]] }}
| agency = {{ublist|Antiquity: Roman schools of grammar/rhetoric<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Schools |encyclopedia=Britannica |edition=1911}}</ref> |Today: [[Pontifical Academy for Latin]]}}
| iso1=la |iso2=lat |iso3=lat
| glotto=lati1261 |glottorefname=Latin
| lingua=51-AAB-a
| image = Rome Colosseum inscription 2.jpg
| imagecaption = Latin inscription, in the [[Colosseum]]
| map = Roman_Empire_Trajan_117AD.png
| mapcaption = Map indicating the greatest extent of the Roman Empire ([[Circa|c.]] 117 AD) and the area governed by Latin speakers (dark red). Many languages other than Latin were spoken within the empire.
| map2 = Romance 20c en-2009-15-02.png
| mapcaption2 = Range of the Romance languages, the modern descendants of Latin, in Europe.
| notice = IPA
}}
'''Latin''' (Latin: {{lang|la|''lingua latīna''}}, {{IPA-la|ˈlɪŋɡʷa laˈtiːna|IPA}}) is a [[classical language]] belonging to the [[Italic languages|Italic branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages]]. The [[Latin alphabet]] is derived from the [[Old Italic script#Etruscan alphabet|Etruscan]] and [[Greek alphabet]]s, and ultimately from the [[Phoenician alphabet]].
Latin was originally spoken in [[Latium]], in the [[Italian Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A companion to Latin studies |first=John Edwin |last=Sandys |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1910 |pages=811–812}}</ref> Through the power of the [[Roman Republic]], it became the dominant language, initially in Italy and subsequently throughout the [[Roman Empire]]. [[Vulgar Latin]] developed into the [[Romance languages]], such as [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], and [[Romanian language|Romanian]]. [[List of Latin words with English derivatives|Latin]], [[English words of Greek origin|Greek]] and [[List of English words of French origin|French]] have contributed many words to the [[English language]]. Latin and [[Ancient Greek]] roots are used in [[theology]], [[List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names|biology]], and [[List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes|medicine]].
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