Digitalized

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The transformation of traditional media or data into a digital format to improve accessibility and functionality
2. The process of turning analog information or images into electronic digital data
3. Changing physical or analog materials into a form that computers can store and process

Etymology: "Digitalized" is the spelling of "digitalize" in its past tense and past participle, so the verb it comes from is the word to trace. "Digitalize" is built from "digital" and the suffix "-ize", meaning "to make", so it describes making something digital. The "digital" part is itself a straightforward extension of the Latin "digitus", meaning "finger", because counting on fingers gave rise to the idea of discrete numbered units. The word also has a second possible source, the Latin "digitalis" (relating to a finger, and the origin of the name of the foxglove plant), which the verb could have been formed from instead. Either way, the verb is a modern coinage built on a familiar suffix, so its story is a simple one, and the surprise lies mainly in how far a finger-counting root has travelled.

Synonyms: digitized, computerized, electronic, automated, online

Antonyms: analog, manual, non-digital, traditional, physical