Adjectivize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert a noun into an adjective by altering its form or function in language is one meaning, while creating descriptive language from existing words is another, and transforming the essence of a term to convey qualities or attributes also applies
2. To modify a noun so that it functions as an adjective is one aspect, while generating descriptive phrases from other words is another, and altering terms to reflect particular characteristics or properties also falls into this category
3. One interpretation involves changing a noun into an adjective, creating adjectives from a base word can occur, and adopting language forms to express qualities or traits is also significant

Etymology: "Adjectivize" is a plain formation: the adjective "adjective" with the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning to make it into, or treat it as, the thing named. Here the base is itself the grammatical term "adjective," so the word means roughly "to make into an adjective," and its meaning follows the sense of the suffix directly. Other words built the same way include "nominalize" and "verbalize." The suffix "-ize" has its own history. It comes from Greek "-izein," which was used to form verbs, and it reached English through Latin "-izare," and later Old French "-iser." English speakers have used it since the medieval period for verbs of making or treating, and it became especially productive in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when grammarians and scientists needed many new verbs. "Adjectivize" belongs to that later wave of coinages, which is why it sounds technical and modern.

Synonyms: modify, qualify, describe, characterize, classify