sexualize

The word 'sexualize' is a modern English formation built upon the Latinate adjective 'sexual'. The core root 'sex' originates from Latin 'sexus', which fundamentally meant "division" and came to specify the division into male and female. The adjectival suffix '-ual' (from Latin '-alis') was attached to form 'sexual', meaning "pertaining to biological sex or the relations between the sexes". Finally, the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize', of ultimate Greek origin, was added in the 19th century to create a term meaning "to make sexual" or "to endow with a sexual character". This construction follows a clear compounding logic: a state or quality (sex) is made adjectival (sexual) and then transformed into a verb of causation (sexualize).

Structure: sex (biological distinction) + ual (relating to) + ize (to make) - sex: From Latin 'sexus' (state of being male or female). In this word, it functions as the core root denoting biological distinction. - ual: A suffix from Latin '-alis', forming adjectives meaning "relating to" or "pertaining to". In this word, it adjectivizes the root. - ize: A verb-forming suffix from Greek '-izein' via Latin '-izare', meaning "to render, to make, to become". It converts the adjective into a verb of causation.