Commonization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of making something usual, familiar, or widespread among a group or community ; the act of transforming a specialized or rare concept into one accepted and recognized by the general public ; the conversion of unique or exclusive traits into common or ordinary characteristics within a society
2. Bringing about the state where an idea, practice, or object becomes standard or habitual ; turning specialized knowledge or practices into broadly accepted and everyday norms ; changing distinctive or uncommon features into widely shared and accessible forms
3. The act or process of causing something to become ordinary, frequent, or prevalent ; spreading a once exceptional or unique entity into common use or understanding ; adapting rare or exclusive phenomena so that they become normal and typical in daily life

Etymology: "Commonization" is formed from "common" plus the suffix "-ization," which turns an adjective into a noun for a process of making something a certain way. "Common" came into English from Old French "comun," from Latin "communis," meaning shared by all or belonging to many, and the "-ize" suffix descends from Greek "-izein," passed through Latin and French before entering English. The suffix "-ization" is the English form of a pattern used for many nouns of process, such as "modernization" or "standardization." Attaching it to "common" yields a word for the act of making something widely shared or ordinary. Because the base word is so familiar, the formation is transparent: the word names the change itself, rather than any particular thing that results from it.

Synonyms: popularization, democratization, generalization

Antonyms: specialization, exclusivization, restriction