Iranize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To adapt or modify something to reflect Iranian culture, customs, language, or characteristics; to imbue with traits specific to Iran's traditions and social norms; to blend or transform elements to suit an Iranian context
2. To cause to acquire features or influences typical of Iran's society or heritage; to translate or reinterpret in a manner aligned with Iranian ways; to infuse with Iranian identity, style, or cultural markers
3. To make something representative of Iranian cultural or linguistic practices; to reinterpret a concept, expression, or artifact through the lens of Iranian experience; to shape or adjust aspects to correspond to Iranian customs or perspectives

Etymology: "Iranize" is a plain formation: the place name "Iran" with the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or give something a particular character or form." So to iranize something is to give it Persian character, much as "Anglicize" means to make something English in style. The more interesting link is to "Aryanize." The two words are piecewise doublets, meaning they share a structure and suffix but differ in their first part, and they belong to the same family of "-ize" verbs built on a national or ethnic name. "Aryanize" is the older and far better known of the pair, and its association with the Nazi regime's seizure of Jewish property has given the family of words a sharp and unwelcome history. "Iranize" is a much more recent and neutral coinage, used to describe cultural or stylistic Persianization, and it does not carry that association.

Synonyms: persianize

Antonyms: deiranize