Colonize
/ˈkɒl.ə.naɪz/noun
To establish control over a territory and settle it with people from another place.
Did you know?Colonize comes from Latin colonia, originally a Roman settlement of farmers and veterans, tied to colere, meaning “to cultivate” or “to inhabit,” so the word’s deepest root is about tending land before it became about conquest.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷel-
“to turn, revolve; to dwell, move around”
Latin
Latin
colere
“to tend, cultivate, inhabit, worship”
Latin
Latin
colonia
“a farm, settlement, colony”
Old French
Old French
colonie
“a colony, settlement”
Late 16th Century
English
colonize
“to settle or establish a colony in a place”
Modern English
English
colonize
“to establish political control over a territory and settle it with people from elsewhere”