the word 'traumatize' is a modern formation built upon the ancient greek noun trauma, meaning a physical wound or injury. this greek term itself is derived from the pie root tere-, meaning 'to rub, turn, or bore,' which conceptually relates to the piercing or wearing action that causes a wound. the suffix -ize, of greek origin, was productively adopted into latin and later english to form verbs meaning 'to render or make into a certain state.' therefore, 'traumatize' literally means 'to inflict a wound,' a meaning that has expanded from the purely physical in the 19th century to encompass severe psychological injury in modern psychological terminology, reflecting a deeper understanding of the lasting impact of shocking experiences.

Structure: trauma (wound) + ize (verb suffix) - trauma: from greek trauma (wound, injury). - ize: from greek -izein via latin -izare and french -iser, a verb-forming suffix meaning 'to make, to become, to subject to'.