New Latin (more commonly called Neo-Latin by academics or Modern Latin) is the style of Literary Latin used, in original, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries' Italian Renaissance, and then across northern Europe after about 1500, as a key feature of the humanist movement. Neo-Latin's adoption throughout Europe was coincident with the rise of the printing press and of early modern schooling. Latin was learnt as a spoken language as well as written, as the vehicle of schooling and University education, while vernacular languages were still infrequently used in such settings. As such, Latin dominated early publishing, and made a significant portion of printed works until the nineteenth century.

Post-Classical Latin, including medieval, Renaissance and Neo-Latin, makes up the vast majority of extant Latin output, estimated as well over 99.99% of the totality. More academic attention has been given to Neo-Latin studies in recent decades, and the role and influence of Latin output in this period has begun to be reassessed. Rather than being an adjunct to Classical Latin forms, or an isolated, derivative and now largely irrelevant cultural output, Neo-Latin literature is seen as vital context for understanding the vernacular cultures in the periods where Latin was in widespread productive use. Additionally, Classical reception studies have begun to assess the differing ways that Classical culture was understood in different nations and times. Latin language materials form an important part of this dialogue.

In Neo-Latin's most productive phase, it dominated science, philosophy, law, theology, and was important for history, literature, plays and poetry. It was a pan-European language for the dissemination of knowledge, and communication between people with different vernaculars, in the Res Publica Litterarum. Even as Latin receded in importance after 1650, it remained vital for international communication of works, many of which were popularised in Latin translation, rather than as vernacular originals. This in large part explains the continued use of Latin in Scandinavian countries, and Russia, to disseminate knowledge, until the late eighteenth century.

From the mid to late seventeenth century, Latin became largely learnt as a written and read language, with little emphasis on oral fluency. Through the eighteenth century, while it still dominated education, its position alongside Greek was increasingly attacked and began to erode. In the nineteenth century, education in Latin (and Greek) focused increasingly on reading and grammar, and mutated into the 'classics' as a topic, although it often still dominated the school curriulum, especially for students aiming at University entry. Learning moved gradually away from poetry composition and other written skills; as a language, its usage was increasingly passive outside of classical commentaries and other specialised texts.

Latin remained in active use in eastern Europe and Scandinavia for a longer period. In Poland, it was used as a vehicle of local government. This extended to those parts of Poland absorbed by Germany. Latin was used as a common tongue between parts of Austrian Empire, particularly by Hungary and Croatia until the 1840s. Croatia maintained a Latin poetry tradition through the nineteenth century. Latin also remained the language of the Catholic Church and of oral debate at a high level in international conferences until the mid twentieth century.

Over time, and especially in its later phases after its practical value had severely declined, education that included strong emphasis on Latin and Greek became associated with elitism and as a deliberate class barrier to entry of educational institutions.

Some authors including C. S. Lewis have criticised the Neo-Latin and classicising nature of humanistic Latin teaching for creating a dynamic for purification and ossification of Latin, and thus its decline from a more productive medieval background. Modern Neo-Latin scholars tend to reject this, as for instance word formation and even medieval uses continued; but some see a kernel of truth, in that the standards of Latin were set very high, making it hard to achieve the necessary confidence to use Latin. In any case, other factors are certainly at play, particularly the widening of education and its needs to address many more practical areas of knowledge, many of which were being written about for national audiences in the vernacular.

Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy and international scientific vocabulary, draws extensively from New Latin vocabulary, often in the form of classical or neoclassical compounds. New Latin includes extensive new word formation. As a language for full expression in prose or poetry, however, it is sometimes distinguished from Contemporary Latin.

Large parts of Latin vocabulary have seeped into English, French and several Germanic languages, particularly through New Latin. In the case of English, about 60% of the lexicon can trace its origin to Latin, thus many English speakers can recognize New Latin terms with relative ease as cognates are quite common.