Unstandardizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of removing or altering established standards in a process or system
2. Engaging in methods that diverge from typical criteria or regulations
3. The process of making something non-conformant to previously accepted norms or specifications

Etymology: "Standard" once meant a military flag. It came into English from Old French "estandart", and the sense of a fixed measure or benchmark developed later, as a banner marked the point everyone rallied to and then became a rule everyone measured against. The origin of the French form is uncertain, and it may be Germanic. "Standardize" adds the suffix "-ize", which turns a noun into a verb meaning to make something conform to a common pattern. The prefix "un-", meaning reversal, comes from Old English. "-ing" then makes the whole thing name the act of undoing that conformity. The result is built entirely from familiar parts rather than a single inherited root.