Hellenise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make something Greek in character, language, or cultural practices
2. To adopt or impose Greek customs, language, or cultural elements upon a person or society
3. To give Greek form, style, or cultural identity to something or someone

Etymology: Ancient Greek speakers used the verb "hellēnizein" to mean speaking Greek correctly, as opposed to speaking like a foreigner. It was built on "Hellēn," the name Greeks used for themselves, so the verb originally concerned language before it concerned culture. The English verb is a much later borrowing that follows the Greek pattern, with the suffix "-ise" added to the name for Greeks. Its wider sense of adopting Greek customs, art, and ways of thinking was shaped by 19th-century scholars who wrote about the Greek-influenced world that followed Alexander the Great. The German historian Johann Gustav Droysen gave that period the name "Hellenismus," and English writers adopted both the noun and the verb from it.

Synonyms: hellenize, grecize