Christianize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To lead an individual or community toward the adoption of Christian beliefs and practices To influence a culture or society to accept and integrate Christian principles and values To foster the transition of personal or communal faith systems toward Christianity
2. To bring about the conversion of a person or group to the Christian faith
3. To cause an individual or society to adopt the doctrines and customs of Christianity

Etymology: Christianize is a plain compound: "Christian" plus the suffix "-ize", so the history of the word is really the history of the suffix. That suffix travelled a long way. It goes back to Ancient Greek "-ízein", which formed verbs meaning "to make into" or "to act like", and it reached English through Late Latin "-izare" and Middle French "-iser". Middle English took it up in the form "-isen", and the spelling settled into "-ize" in English as a productive way of making new verbs from nouns and adjectives. Christianize therefore follows a pattern that English used freely for centuries. Pairing "-ize" with a noun or adjective gives the sense "to make something conform to it", so to Christianize is to bring someone or something into conformity with Christianity, usually by converting people to the faith. The word itself is a formation in English built on existing parts, so there is no older Christian-specific verb behind it.

Synonyms: convert, evangelize