Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “victimize” come from?

Victimize comes from English victim, derived from Middle French victime, from Latin victima, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weyk- meaning to consecrate or dedicate, influenced by Ancient Greek -ίζειν and Proto-Indo-European -idyé-.

victimize (English): To make someone a victim or sacrifice; To punish...

Definitions

  1. To make someone a victim or sacrifice; To punish...

Ancestry of “victimize”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-izeUsed to form verbs from nouns or adjectives
2Middle English-isen-ise, -ize
3Middle French-iser-ize
4Latin-izō—
5Ancient Greek-ίζωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
6Proto-Hellenic-íďďō—
7Proto-Indo-European-idyéti—
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “victimize”

  • victimizer
  • revictimize
  • victimizable
  • devictimize
  • unvictimizable
Every word from Chichewa iye →