Privatised

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of transferring authority or ownership of a publicly run entity to private hands is referred to in this context
2. This transformation entails moving the management of a public service or asset into the realm of private ownership
3. The process of changing a publicly owned entity into one that is privately owned or controlled involves significant alterations in its management and operation

Etymology: The word is an inflected form of "privatise", so what matters is the verb itself. "Privatise" is simply "private" with the suffix "-ise" added, and that suffix comes from Greek "-ízō" by way of Latin "-izāre", passing through French and Middle English before settling into the English ending. The root "private" traces back through Latin "prīvātus", meaning withdrawn from public life, to Latin "prīvus", meaning single or one's own, which is the same stock that gave English words such as "privy". Most of the intervening history belongs to the suffix rather than to "private" itself. Greek "-ízō" was used to form verbs meaning to make or to treat in a certain way, and Latin borrowed it as "-izāre", which French later reshaped into "-iser". English then adopted the pattern, so "privatise" is built from an old, productive verb-forming tool attached to a plain adjective. The past forms "privatised" follow the regular English pattern of adding "-ed" to the verb, which gives the sense of having been made privately owned.

Synonyms: privatized

Antonyms: nationalized