computerise

The word 'computerise' is a modern English formation built upon the core concept of calculation. Its journey begins with the Latin verb 'computare', meaning "to sum up, reckon, or calculate", which itself is a compound of 'com-' (together) and 'putare' (to reckon, consider). This root entered English as the verb 'compute'. The agent suffix '-er' was attached to create 'computer', originally a term for a human who performs calculations, later applied to the electronic machine. Finally, the productive verb-forming suffix '-ise', of ancient Greek origin, was added in the mid-20th century to describe the process of making a system function with or like a computer. Thus, the literal morphemic logic progresses from "calculate" to "a thing that calculates" to the action of "causing something to be operated by a thing that calculates".

Structure: compute + er + ise compute: From Latin 'computare' (to calculate, reckon), via Middle French 'computer'. Functions as the core verb root meaning "to calculate". er: An English agentive suffix, from Old English '-ere', used to form nouns denoting a person or thing that performs an action. Here, it forms "computer" (a thing that computes). ise: A verb-forming suffix, from Greek '-izein' via Latin '-izare' and French '-iser', meaning "to make, to become, to cause to be". It converts the noun into a verb meaning "to make like a computer" or "to use a computer".