Deslavicize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To remove or reduce Slavic characteristics, influences, or elements from language, culture, or identity ; to alter or transform something to be less connected to Slavic origins or traits ; to effect a process of distancing or purging Slavic features from a subject
2. To strip away Slavic linguistic, cultural, or ethnic traits from an object, group, or text ; to modify or adapt something so it no longer reflects Slavic roots ; to enact a change that diminishes or eliminates Slavic associations
3. To eliminate Slavic attributes from speech, customs, or background ; to change or convert something to lessen its Slavic affiliation or origin ; to undertake the removal or weakening of Slavic connections within a given context

Etymology: The most surprising link runs through a word for bondage. "Slav" comes from Medieval Latin "Sclavus," a term for Slavic peoples that, because many Slavs were captured and sold as slaves, came to mean "slave" in many European languages, including English. The root of "Slavic" is therefore tied to a word for enslavement, a shift that had nothing to do with the peoples themselves. "Deslavicize" is built from three parts: the Latin prefix "de-," meaning reversal or removal; the stem "Slavic"; and the suffix "-ize," from Greek "-izein," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning to make or treat something in a certain way. "Slavicize" is the base form, meaning to make something Slavic, and adding "de-" reverses it to mean stripping Slavic character away. It is a transparent, formal coinage rather than a word with an older history of its own.

Synonyms: derussify, de-slavicize, de-slavify, de-slavonize

Antonyms: slavicize, russify, slavonize