Aristocratize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To elevate or confer qualities befitting a noble or privileged class; to transform or shape into something characteristic of aristocracy; to adopt or promote behaviors and styles associated with the upper echelon of society
2. To bestow an air of nobility or elite status upon; to fashion or cause to resemble the traits or manners of aristocracy; to engage in actions or practices typical of the aristocratic class
3. To raise to a level of noble distinction or upper-class refinement; to alter or influence to reflect aristocratic values or lifestyle; to cultivate or embody the social distinctions of aristocrats

Etymology: "Aristocratize" is built from "aristocrat" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize," which comes from Greek "-izein" and entered English through Latin "-izare." The suffix is the more interesting part here: it lets English turn almost any noun into a verb meaning "to make into, or to act like," so "aristocratize" simply means "to make into an aristocrat" or "to make aristocratic." The base word traces back to Greek "aristokratia," from "aristos" meaning "best" and "kratos" meaning "power" or "rule," so the root sense is literally "rule by the best." That original idea of merit-based government drifted over the centuries into a description of a hereditary upper class, which is why "aristocratize" can carry both a political sense of making a group into a privileged elite and a social sense of imbuing someone with refined manners.

Synonyms: nobilitize, gentilize, ennoble

Antonyms: democratize, commonize, proletarianize