externalizing
UK[ɪkˈstɜː.nə.laɪ.zɪŋ]US[ɪkˈstɝː.nə.laɪ.zɪŋ]
v
Making an internal feeling, thought, or problem into an external, observable fact or issue.
v
(Economics) Making a cost or benefit affect parties who are not directly involved in an economic activity.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
tern
aliz
ing
ex
out
tern
outer
aliz
e) (make
ing
action/process
Etymology
The word 'externalizing' is built upon the Latin root externus, meaning "outward" or "on the outside", which itself derives from exter, the comparative form of ex ("out of"). The suffix -ize, borrowed via Latin from Greek -izein, imparts the meaning "to make or cause to be". Therefore, the literal construction is "to make outward". The modern sense evolved from this concrete spatial meaning to the psychological and economic abstractions of projecting internal states onto the external world or shifting costs onto outside parties. The addition of -ing nominalizes the action, focusing on the ongoing process of this outward projection.
Analysis
Structure: ex (out) + tern (outer) + aliz(e) (make) + ing (action/process)
- ex: Latin origin, meaning "out of, from".
- tern: From Latin externus (outward, external), related to exter (on the outside).
- aliz(e): A verb-forming suffix from Latin -izare, Greek -izein, meaning "to make, to render, to become".
- ing: Old English -ende, -ung, a suffix forming the present participle and verbal nouns indicating action or process.
Examples
The child was externalizing his anxiety through aggressive behavior.
The company was accused of externalizing the environmental costs of its production.
Her therapy focuses on identifying feelings instead of externalizing them.