urbanise
Meaning
To make an area more like a town or city by building houses, industries, and other infrastructure.
To cause a population or society to adopt the characteristics or lifestyle typical of a city.
Structure
Usage
The government's plan aims to urbanise the coastal region, bringing new roads and housing developments.
Rapid economic growth can quickly urbanise a previously agricultural society.
Critics argue that the decision to urbanise the greenbelt will lead to increased traffic and pollution.
Etymology
The word 'urbanise' is built upon the Latin root urbs, meaning "city." The adjective urbanus (pertaining to a city) entered English as "urban." The suffix -ise, of Greek origin via Latin, is a productive verb-forming element meaning "to make" or "to become." Therefore, the literal construction "to make city-like" perfectly captures the modern meaning: the process of transforming a rural area into one with the dense population, built environment, and social characteristics of a city. This term emerged in the 19th century to describe the profound demographic and physical shifts of the Industrial Revolution.
Analysis
- urban: From Latin urbanus (of or pertaining to a city), from urbs (city). Functions as the core root conveying the concept of a city. - ise: A verb-forming suffix, variant of -ize, from Greek -izein via Latin -izare. It indicates the process of making or becoming.