English Explanatory Dictionary

characterize

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative).
  2. To be typical of.
  3. To determine the characteristics of.

Pronunciation

/ˈkæɹəktəɹaɪz/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-characterize.wav /ˈkɛɹəktəɹaɪz/

Word forms

characterize characterizes characterizing characterized characterise

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek χαράσσω (kharássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Ancient Greek -τήρ (-tḗr) Ancient Greek χᾰρᾰκτήρ (khărăktḗr) Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Ancient Greek χᾰρακτηρίζω (khăraktērízō)der. Medieval Latin charactērizōder. English characterize From Medieval Latin charactērizō, from Ancient Greek χαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “a mark, character”). By surface analysis, character + -ize.

Derived words

characterizability characterizable characterization characterizer hypercharacterize immunocharacterize mischaracterize recharacterize subcharacterize undercharacterize
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on C Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary