Lateralizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To shift to one side, particularly in relation to body or brain functions
2. to cause to favor or engage one side as opposed to the other
3. to distribute function or structure asymmetrically across a lateral plane

Etymology: "Lateralizes" is the third-person singular of "lateralize," formed from "lateral" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ize." "Lateral" comes from Latin "lateralis," from "latus," meaning "side," and the suffix "-ize" comes from Greek "-izein," used to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs. The verb is a technical coinage from the scientific study of the brain, where it describes how functions become concentrated in one hemisphere rather than the other. Its meaning comes from neuroscience and psychology rather than from everyday English, so the sense of favoring one side is a specialized extension of the Latin word for "side."

Synonyms: sides, divides