Why are French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Romanian sometimes referred to as “romance languages”?

Answer 1

These languages are referred to as "romance languages" because they are all descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. Latin was the dominant language spoken in the region for many centuries, and over time it evolved into different dialects which eventually developed into distinct languages. The term "romance" in this context stems from the Latin word "romanice", meaning "in the Roman manner" or "according to Roman tradition".