Where does “characterize” come from?
Characterize comes from Medieval Latin characterizare, from Ancient Greek χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ meaning an engraved mark, from χαράσσω meaning to scratch or engrave, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰer-.
characterize (English): To depict someone or something a particular way;...
Definitions
- To depict someone or something a particular way;...
Ancestry of “characterize”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | characterizo | — |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | χαρακτηρίζω | to designate by a characteristic mark |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | -ίζω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | -íďďō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -idyéti | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
Words derived from “characterize”