Mortalized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make something eternal or everlasting, preserving it in memory or art
2. To cause a subject to achieve lasting fame or recognition, often beyond its natural life
3. To transform an ordinary experience or person into a legendary status that endures through time

Etymology: "Mortalized" is the past tense and past participle of "mortalize," a verb formed from "mortal" plus the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning to make or cause something to be a certain way. "Mortal" comes from Latin "mortalis," meaning subject to death, from "mors" (death). Literally, then, to mortalize something is to make it mortal, which is the opposite of the sense the word now carries: rather than fading away, the experience or person is lifted into a status that outlasts ordinary time.