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to Arabize

to Arabize

1 8.8
Make people or places start to use Arabic language and customs
  • verb
  • /ˈærəˌbaɪz/
: arabizar
  • While standard Spanish displays a considerable Semitic overlay in its vocabulary, Islamic Spanish has gone much further in Arabizing its syntax and semantics as well.

Examples

  • The government implemented policies to Arabize public institutions in order to promote Arabic culture.

  • The city and its environs, once heavily Kurdish, were "Arabized" by Saddam in an effort to weaken the Kurdish hold on Iraq's northern oil-producing region.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Efforts to Arabize the curriculum were made to ensure that students learned about Arab history and literature.

  • Many families chose to Arabize their children's names to reflect their cultural heritage.

Synonyms

to acculturate
vsto Arabize
  • Specialized
1 8.2

Learn and use the customs and ways of another group

targets one specific culture's language and customs rather than general change

How Arabic

to assimilate
47 6.1
to Arabize
1 8.8
to adapt
130 3.2
to influence
545 2.2

Surface Forms

Arabize infinitive
Arabized past
Arabized past participle
Arabizing present participle
Arabizes third person singular

Morphology

Arabize = Arab (transparent) = Arab + ize

Clear verb-forming suffix '-ize' added to 'Arab' yields the meaning 'make or become Arab/Arabic', which learners can infer from known parts.

Etymology

Arabize comes from Arab and the ending -ize, where -ize means 'make' or 'become'. So to Arabize people or a system is to make them adopt Arabic language or customs.