The word 'urbanization' is a modern formation built upon the classical Latin foundation for 'city'. The root 'urban' derives from Latin urbanus, an adjective meaning 'of the city', which itself originates from urbs, the Latin word for a city or walled town. The suffix '-ization' is a productive English suffix borrowed via French from Latin -izare and Greek -izein, meaning 'to render or make'. Therefore, the literal morphemic construction means 'the process of making something city-like'. This term emerged in the 19th century to describe the concrete socio-demographic shift of populations moving into and expanding cities, transforming landscapes and societies in a process of becoming more 'urban'.

Structure: urban (city) + ization (process of making) - urban: From Latin urbanus (of or pertaining to a city), from urbs (city). Functions as the root, providing the core meaning related to cities. - ization: A compound suffix from -ize (to make, to render) + -ation (the action or process of). Functions as a nominalizing suffix indicating the process of making something.