Anonymisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of stripping personal identifiers from records so that the individuals they describe cannot be recognised
2. Removing names and other identifying details from data so that a person's identity is no longer revealed
3. Making information about individuals untraceable by deleting or disguising the details that would reveal who they are

Etymology: Anonymisation is a plain English build from older parts, and its most useful fact is how far back the core of it reaches. The root is the Greek "anōnumos", meaning "nameless", formed from "an-" ("without") and "ónoma"/"ónuma" ("name"). Greek used it as an adjective, and it passed into Late Latin as "anonymus" and then into English as "anonym" and "anonymous". The verb "anonymize" comes from "anonymous" with the suffix "-ize", which entered English through Latin "-izare" and Greek "-izein", a suffix used to turn adjectives and nouns into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in the manner of". Adding "-ation", the suffix for an action or process, produced the noun. The spelling "anonymisation" simply uses the British "-is-" form of the same suffix.

Synonyms: de-identification, pseudonymization

Antonyms: identification