Occidentalising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process by which cultures outside the West incorporate Western values or customs
2. A phenomenon in which non-Western societies embrace or reflect Western lifestyles and beliefs
3. The act of non-Western societies integrating customs, ideas, or values from Western countries

Etymology: "Occidentalising" is the British spelling of "occidentalizing," the present participle and gerund of "occidentalise," a verb built on "occident," the Western part of the world. "Occident" comes from Latin "occidens," meaning "setting" or "west," the present participle of "occidere," "to fall down" or "to set," as in the sun setting. The Romans used the phrase to describe the direction where the sun goes down, and the same sense of "west" as the place of sunset gave rise to the contrasting term "orient," meaning the east, from the Latin for "rising." The verb "occidentalise" follows the pattern of similar formations, where a noun or adjective for a region is turned into a verb meaning to make something conform to that region's culture. Its meaning here, a process by which non-Western societies adopt or mirror Western ways of living and believing, depends on a long-standing contrast between the "Occident" and the "Orient" that European writers used for centuries.