romance

n. 1 idealized, poetic, or unworldly atmosphere or tendency. 2 a love affair. B mutual attraction in this. C sentimental or idealized love. 3 a literary genre concerning romantic love, stirring action, etc. B work of this genre. 4 medieval, esp. Verse, tale of chivalry, common in the romance languages. 5 a exaggeration, lies. B instance of this. 6 (romance) (often attrib.) Languages descended from latin. 7 mus. Short informal piece. v. (-cing) 1 exaggerate, distort the truth, fantasize. 2 court, woo. [romanic: related to *romanic]

n. A species of fictitious writing, originally composed in meter in the Romance dialects, and afterward in prose, such as the tales of the court of Arthur, and of Amadis of Gaul; hence, any fictitious and wonderful tale; a sort of novel, especially one which treats of surprising adventures usually befalling a hero or a heroine; a tale of extravagant adventures, of love, and the like.