Latin is an ancient language that originated in central Italy over 2,500 years ago. The Romans spoke Latin as their everyday language, and as the Roman Empire expanded across Europe, North Africa, and parts of Western Asia, Latin spread with it.

For centuries after the Western Roman Empire fell, Latin remained the language of education, science, law, and the Catholic Church throughout Europe. Scientists like Isaac Newton wrote their discoveries in Latin so scholars in different countries could read them. Even today, doctors use Latin terms for parts of the body, lawyers use Latin phrases in legal writing, and biologists give every living thing a Latin scientific name.

Latin isn't spoken as an everyday language anymore, but it's far from dead. Many English words come from Latin roots, which is why learning Latin helps you understand thousands of English words. If you know that “aqua” means water in Latin, you can figure out that an aquarium is a water container for fish and an aqueduct is a structure that carries water.

The word Latin can also describe things related to ancient Rome or to regions where languages descended from Latin (like Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian) are spoken. When you hear about Latin America, it refers to the parts of the Americas where these languages are spoken.