immunize
UK[ˈɪm.jə.naɪz]US[ˈɪm.jə.naɪz]
v
to make a person or animal immune to a disease, typically by giving them a vaccine.
v
to make someone or something protected or exempt from something undesirable.
Morpheme Breakdown
immun
ize
immun
safe, exempt
ize
verb-forming suffix
Etymology
the word 'immunize' has a journey from civic privilege to biological protection. its core, 'immun-', derives from the latin 'immunis', a compound of 'in-' (not) and 'munia' (duties, functions), originally describing someone exempt from taxes or public service. this concept of exemption was metaphorically extended into medical english in the 19th century to describe a state of being exempt from infection. the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize', of ancient greek origin, was appended to create the modern verb, meaning 'to make exempt or safe', perfectly capturing the action of conferring biological exemption through vaccination.
Analysis
Structure: immun (safe, exempt) + ize (verb-forming suffix)
immun originates from latin 'immunis', meaning exempt from public service or charge, free. the suffix ize comes from greek '-izein', via latin '-izare', and is used to form verbs meaning 'to make' or 'to become'.
Examples
the health campaign aims to immunize all children against measles.
it is crucial to immunize the population before the flu season begins.
the new software patch will help immunize the system from the latest cyber threats.