Commercialized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Designed and altered for the purpose of generating profit through marketing strategies
2. Converted into a marketable product or service aimed at maximizing sales and appeal to consumers
3. Changed or developed specifically to promote sales and generate revenue in a business context

Etymology: Commercialized is the past tense of "commercialize", and its story is really the story of two suffixes joined to an old Latin trading word. The base comes from Latin "commercium", meaning trade or commerce, built from "con-" (together) and "merx" (merchandise). From it came Late Latin "commercialis" and then French "commercial", which English borrowed as the adjective "commercial" for things relating to trade. The verb is simply that adjective with the suffix "-ize" attached, a Greek-derived ending that English adopted through Latin and Middle French to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in the manner of" something. The suffix's own history is longer than the English word. It descends from Ancient Greek "-izein", used for verbs like "baptizein" (to baptize), and it entered Latin as "-izare" and then passed into Middle French as "-iser" before reaching Middle English. Because English speakers could attach it to almost any adjective, it became the standard tool for coining new verbs, which is why "commercialize" is a comparatively modern formation built from older parts.

Synonyms: marketed, traded

Antonyms: de-commercialized