Maximisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The endeavor to expand or optimize a resource or capability to its utmost limit
2. The process of making something as large or effective as it can be
3. An effort to push a quantity or potential to its highest achievable level

Etymology: "Maximisation" is a plain formation, built from "maximise" plus the suffix "-ation". The root is the Latin adjective "maximus", meaning "greatest" or "largest", which is the superlative of "magnus" ("great"). Its ancient ancestry reaches back to a Proto-Indo-European root for "great", but the path into English runs through Latin and then French. The verb behind the noun, "maximise", is English "maximize" with the British spelling. It came from the Latin "maximus" through a Late Latin verb ending "-izare", which passed into Middle French as "-iser" and then into Middle English as "-isen". The suffix "-ation" follows the same route: Latin "-ātiō" entered Old French as "-ation" and then Middle English as "-aciun", and the English form was settled from there. Put together, the noun names the act of pushing something toward its greatest possible amount. It is a technical-sounding word that grew out of ordinary English verbs and nouns, with its Latin core doing the quiet work of "greatest".

Synonyms: optimization, enhancement, augmentation, increase, amplification

Antonyms: minimisation, reduction, diminution, decrease, decline