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Glite Dictionary
🔤 To use Latin letters 📜 To translate to Latin
to Latinize

to Latinize

7.7
Write a word or name using the Latin alphabet so people can read it
  • verb
  • /ˈlætɪnaɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : latinizar
  • The same sentiment applies to the effort to 'latinize' local script to gain technical advantages.

Examples

  • The effort to latinize foreign names helps people from different cultures communicate better.

  • They first Latinized the surname Colon into Columbus, then adopted the Italian form of Columbo.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Many local words were latinized to fit the alphabetical system used in English.

  • Scholars often latinize ancient texts to make them accessible to a wider audience.

Synonyms

to transliterate
vsto Latinize
1 7.7

To write words from one alphabet using the letters of another alphabet, not translate them

is limited to using the Latin alphabet specifically
to Romanize
vsto Latinize
  • Specialized
1 6.9

To write words from another alphabet using Latin letters

is the alternative term for that same writing process
to transcribe
vsto Latinize
1 4.4

To write words from one alphabet into another

focuses on converting letters into the Latin alphabet rather than sounds

Surface Forms

Latinize infinitive
Latinized past
Latinized past participle
Latinizing present participle
Latinizes third person singular

Morphology

Latinize = Latin (semi-transparent) = Latin + ize

The word is built transparently from 'Latin' + '-ize', but this specific sense of converting text to the Latin alphabet is a specialized usage.

Etymology

Latinize comes from Latin and the ending -ize, which means 'to make'. A helpful image is changing a name from another writing into the Latin (Roman) letters you can read, so to Latinize something is to write or show it using the Latin alphabet.