Elasticises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make flexible or stretchable, allowing for adjustment in size or shape
2. to enhance the capacity of an object to resume its original form after deformation
3. to apply a property to materials that permits them to adapt dynamically under varying conditions

Etymology: "Elasticises" is the third-person singular present form of "elasticise," the British spelling of "elasticize," meaning to make something elastic. The verb is built from "elastic" plus the suffix "-ise" (or "-ize"), which turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make or render X." That same pattern gives us "modernise," "legalise," and "sterilise." "Elastic" itself traces back to the New Latin "elasticus," coined by scholars in the 17th century from the Greek "elaunein," meaning "to drive" or "to propel." The idea was that a stretched or compressed body springs back by driving itself into its former shape. English adopted "elastic" in the 1660s, first as a term in physics and then as an everyday adjective, and the noun "elastic" for stretchy fabric followed in the 19th century.