Communalize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert individually held resources into those collectively owned for community benefit
2. To shift ownership or control from individual to joint use by a group or community
3. To transfer private property or resources into shared management among community members

Etymology: "Communalize" is a plain English formation: "communal" with the verb-forming suffix "-ize" attached, producing a verb meaning to make something collectively owned or shared. The suffix "-ize" comes from Greek "-izein", which Latin took up as "-izare" and which English adopted, through French and Latin, as a productive way to turn adjectives and nouns into verbs. "Communal" itself traces back through Old French to the Latin "communis", meaning shared by all or belonging to everyone, which is also the source of "common" and "community". The pattern is what makes this word useful. English speakers can attach "-ize" to almost any adjective, so "communal" became a verb as soon as someone needed one for the idea of turning private property into shared property. The result is a word whose meaning lies in its two halves: the shared quality of "communal" and the act-of-making sense of "-ize".

Synonyms: share, distribute

Antonyms: privatize