Deanglicize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To remove or reverse the influence of English language or culture from a word, phrase, or practice; to restore original linguistic or cultural traits prior to English modification; to reinterpret something in a way that minimizes or excludes English elements
2. To eliminate Anglicized forms or characteristics from expressions, customs, or terminology; to reclaim native or original linguistic or cultural features displaced by English; to adapt language or culture by undoing English influence
3. To undo the process of making something English in form or style; to revive indigenous or non-English language and cultural aspects previously altered by English; to convert back from English language norms to original forms or usages

Etymology: "Deanglicize" is formed from "Anglicize" with the reversing prefix "de-", which comes from Latin "de-" meaning "down from" or "away from" and in English often signals undoing an action. "Anglicize" itself is built from "Anglic," the adjective relating to the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who settled Britain, plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize," which comes through French and Latin from Greek "-izein." The pattern is productive: English speakers have long attached "de-" to verbs to mean "remove or reverse the thing named," as with "decentralize," "demilitarize," or "decolonize." "Deanglicize" follows that model directly, so its meaning can be worked out from its parts without any special history behind it.

Synonyms: debritish, deromanticize

Antonyms: anglicize