Immunize
/ˈɪm.jə.naɪz/noun
To make a person or animal resistant to a disease, typically by vaccination.
Did you know?Its root is Latin immunis, meaning “exempt from public service” or “free from burden,” so the word began as a kind of sacred/legal immunity before medicine claimed it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mei-
“to change, exchange, or give in return”
Latin
Latin
munus
“a duty, service, gift, or office”
Latin
Latin
immunis
“free from public service; exempt, untaxed”
Late Latin
Latin
immunizare
“to exempt or free from obligation”
16th–17th Century
English
immunize
“to exempt or make free from something harmful or burdensome”
Modern English
English
immunize
“to confer protection against a disease, especially by vaccination”