criminalize
UK[ˈkrɪmɪnəlaɪz]US[ˈkrɪmɪnəlaɪz]
v
to make an activity illegal by making a law against it
v
to treat someone as if they are a criminal
Morpheme Breakdown
criminal
ize
criminal
related to crime
ize
to make, verb suffix
Etymology
the word "criminalize" is a modern english formation, built upon the existing adjective "criminal," which itself descends from the latin crimen, meaning "judgment, accusation, offense." the latin root likely originates from the proto-indo-european krei-, meaning "to sieve, discriminate, distinguish," which evolved into concepts of judgment. the suffix "-ize," borrowed ultimately from greek, is a productive verb-forming element meaning "to make or cause to be." therefore, the literal construction "to make criminal" logically evolved into the modern legal and social meanings of declaring an act illegal or treating a person as an offender.
Analysis
Structure: criminal (related to crime) + ize (to make, verb suffix)
- criminal: from latin crimin- (accusation, charge, offense) via old french, acting as the base noun/adjective in this formation.
- ize: from greek -izein via latin -izare and french -iser, a verb-forming suffix meaning "to render, to make, to become".
Examples
the government moved to criminalize the possession of certain unregulated substances.
some argue that such policies effectively criminalize poverty.
the new bill seeks to criminalize data theft with stricter penalties.