Aryanize
/ˈɛə.ri.ə.naɪz/noun
To make or become Aryan in character, often used historically in racist or ideological contexts.
Did you know?Unlike words with real ancient roots, “Aryanize” is a modern political term built from “Aryan,” a 19th-century racialized label that was later weaponized by Nazi ideology.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Indo-Iranian
Proto-Indo-Iranian
*arya-
“a self-designation meaning roughly “noble” or “honorable” among some ancient Indo-Iranian peoples”
Old Persian
Old Persian
ariya-
“Aryan; Iranian; belonging to the people who called themselves Arya”
Sanskrit
Sanskrit
ā́rya
“noble, honorable; the name used by Indo-Aryan speakers for themselves”
19th Century
English
Aryan
“a racialized term borrowed from comparative linguistics and misused in racial theory”
19th Century
English
-ize
“a verbal suffix meaning “to make” or “to render””
20th Century
English
Aryanize
“to make Aryan; especially to exclude, dispossess, or conform institutions and people to Nazi racial ideology”
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