Familiarise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To assist in the understanding and acclimatization to a subject or setting
2. To facilitate a person's increased awareness and comfort level regarding specific information or situations
3. To help someone gain knowledge or experience about a topic or environment

Etymology: "Familiarise" is a straightforward formation: the adjective "familiar" with the verb-forming suffix "-ise." The adjective "familiar" came into English from Latin "familiaris," meaning "of the household" or "belonging to the family," from "familia," the household. The sense of being well acquainted with something grew out of that domestic idea, so something familiar was once something that belonged to the household and was therefore known. The suffix does most of the verb-making work. It descends through Late Latin "-izare" and Ancient Greek "-izein," which turned nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make or treat in a certain way." Old French borrowed it as "-iser," and Middle English took it as "-isen," which eventually became the modern English "-ise." Spelling variants like "-ize" reflect the same suffix, with British and American conventions diverging over time. "Familiarise" follows this pattern exactly: to familiarise someone with a subject is to make it familiar to them, to bring it into the household of their knowledge.

Synonyms: acquaint, inform, introduce

Antonyms: unfamiliarize, estrange, alienate