Foreignize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make something adopt characteristics or qualities associated with other nations or cultures, or to introduce external linguistic or cultural elements into a language or tradition
2. To transform an idea, practice, or product to reflect traits or elements from another culture, or to influence a language by incorporating foreign aspects
3. To adapt or modify something so that it exhibits features typical of a different culture or nation, while also affecting language and traditions through external influences

Etymology: "Foreignize" is a plain English formation: the adjective "foreign" with the verb-forming suffix "-ize," which turns a word into a verb meaning "to make or cause to become" what the base describes. So the verb literally means "to make foreign." "Foreign" itself came into English from Old French "forain," meaning "from outside," which grew out of Latin "foris," "outside" or "out of doors." The sense of belonging elsewhere, or of being strange and alien, grew naturally from that original notion of being outside. The suffix "-ize" comes through Latin and Greek, where it was used to form verbs from nouns and adjectives. English has used it since the late Middle Ages and has made it very productive, especially in technical and academic vocabulary. That productivity explains why a verb like "foreignize" can be coined on the spot, as it appears to have been, to describe making something reflect another culture.

Synonyms: alienate, exoticize, outsource

Antonyms: domesticate, integrate, localize