'romantic' originates from French, specifically the word 'romantique', where 'romant-' ultimately comes from Medieval Latin 'romanticus' (from 'romanicus') meaning 'of or relating to the Romance (vernacular)'.

'romantic' changed from Old French 'romanz/romance' (stories in the vernacular) into French 'romantique' and was adopted into English in the late 18th century; it later became associated with the Romantic movement and emotional, imaginative qualities.

Initially it meant 'of or relating to romances/vernacular tales' and later became associated with the Romantic movement and the idea of strong emotion and imagination; today it commonly means 'relating to love' or 'idealized emotion'.