Centralisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of focusing decision-making power and management within a singular authority is a key aspect of this process
2. The process by which control and authority are concentrated in a single governing body or location
3. A system in which decision-making is confined to one central point of power

Etymology: "Centralisation" is a plain formation built from the word "centralise" plus the suffix "-ation", which turns a verb into a noun for an act or process. The verb "centralise" is itself built on "centre", ultimately from Latin "centrum", the sharp point of a compass around which a circle is drawn. So the word carries a geometric picture inside it: everything turned toward a single point. The noun reached English from French "centralisation", which is the route the source records, and the verb "centralise" followed the same French-influenced path. The root's core meaning of a middle point gradually widened, through the idea of a central place of government, into the political sense the word has today.

Synonyms: consolidation, unification, centralization, integration

Antonyms: decentralization, dispersal, fragmentation