personalizev.
/ˈpəːsn̩əlʌɪz/, /ˈpəːsn̩l̩ʌɪz/, /ˈpəːsənl̩ʌɪz/, /ˈpəːs(ə)nəlʌɪz/, U.S. /ˈpərs(ə)nəˌlaɪz/ 1. transitive. To represent in or as a person, or as having human attributes; to personify, embody.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > physical representation of abstraction > personification > represent as a person [verb (transitive)]
personate1612
personize1726
personify1728
personalize1747
1747 W. Warburton Wks. Shakespear V. 354 (note) Danger is personalized as serving in the rebel army, and shaking the established government.
1754 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 82 The Poets are fond of personalizing both physical and moral Qualities.
1855 G. W. Burnap Pop. Objections to Unitarian Christianity 142 The proper, distinct, and real character of the [Holy] Spirit is that of a divine power.., and it is only personalized by idioms of speech.
1893 A. M. Fairbairn Place Christ in Mod. Theol. i. ii. §1. 48 What sort of religious ideal did He personalize?
1948 Times 24 Sept. 5/5 This vice of personalizing a nation or race and attributing to it as a person the characteristics, real or imaginary, of some of the individuals composing it.
1991 G. Richards Philos. Gandhi (BNC) 5 All the names and forms attributed to this indefinable power are, in Gandhi's view, symbols, and attempts to personalize God.
2. transitive. To cause an issue, argument, etc., to become concerned with or emphasize individual persons or personal feelings, rather than general or abstract matters; to make personal.
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1892 Polit. Sci. Q. 7 115 This abuse increased the importance of single leaders, personalized politics and made the state a battle-field of selfish interests.
1902 Anaconda (Montana) Standard 25 Jan. 8/3 Each soul must find its own belief or rest in dead tradition. To accept the thought of today is as futile as to accept the old creeds without rethinking, personalizing them anew.
1948 Times 10 Feb. 4/1 He..charged them with having vulgarly personalized issues of principle.
1991 Sci. News 26 Jan. 62 (advt.) By structuring the book as one child's ‘diary’ from six weeks to four years, Stern personalizes the rich theoretical information the book provides.
3. transitive. Originally U.S. To make (a thing) identifiable as belonging to a particular individual, organization, etc., esp. by marking it with a name or set of initials. Also: to design or produce something to meet individual requirements; to customize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > apply or restrict specifically to something [verb (transitive)] > make personal
personalize1910
1910 Washington Post 24 Sept. 3 (advt.) The Calvert label in a garment..identifies the best there is in Clothing Woolens; the highest grade of modeling and making. They've got the snap and the style that personalizes them; they've got the intrinsic worth that substantializes them.
1935 Advt. for Mohawk Sheets (Miller & Rhoads, Richmond, Va.) Now personalized with smart needlecrest initials.
1966 Electronics 31 Oct. 42/3 In the CP and EP, the memory is a plug-in unit that can be replaced in a few minutes, so that the design of either model can be quickly personalized for a special application.
1990 New Jersey Goodlife Jan.–Feb. 53/2 You can personalize a shower with body sprays, rainbars, jetstreams, and hand showers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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