Persianize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To adapt or influence something with traits or characteristics typical of Persian culture, language, or style; to render or modify in a Persian manner
2. To incorporate Persian linguistic or cultural features into another language, text, or tradition; to express or transform relating to Persian form or custom
3. To imbue something with the qualities, expressions, or customs associated with Persia; to convert or alter by applying elements connected to Persian heritage

Etymology: "Persianize" is a plain formation: the adjective-style name "Persian" with the verb-forming suffix "-ize" added to it. The suffix comes from Greek "-izein," which Latin and then English adopted as a productive way to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in the manner of." Attaching it to "Persian" gives the sense of making something conform to Persian traits, much as "Americanize" or "modernize" work. The base "Persian" itself traces back to "Pars," the name of the region of southwestern Iran that gave its name to the people and language, and it is the origin the English adjective draws on. Because "-ize" can be added to almost any proper adjective, the verb is a freely coined one rather than a term with a long independent history, so its usefulness lies mainly in the pattern it follows.

Synonyms: persianise, orientalize

Antonyms: de-persianize, westernize, anglicize