pluralizationn.
/ˌplʊərəlʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌplʊərl̩ʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌplɔːrəlʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌplɔːrl̩ʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˈˌplʊrələˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˈˌplʊrəˌlaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ The action of pluralizing something; the act of becoming plural.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > number > plural > conversion into
pluralization1863
1863 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 7 284 In the plural they are appended, not to the nominative or base, but to the particle of pluralization which is suffixed to the base.
1878 H. Spencer in Pop. Sci. Monthly July 300 ‘Inferiors invariably use the third person plural in addressing their superiors’: a form which, while dignifying the superior by pluralization, increases the distance of the inferior by its relative indirectness.
1927 Proc. Sixth Internat. Congr. Philos. 132 Its [sc. the mind's] wholeness overrides the pluralization of itself into Minds, and even the pulverization of these into swarms or series of atomic experiences.
1970 Eng. Stud. 41 395 Participles used as adjectival modifiers were also disregarded, as were those used nominally (with actual or potential determiners, pluralisation, or government by a preposition).
1991 Past & Present Aug. 105 The first half of this article discusses the accelerating pluralization which seems to characterize Malaysia today.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1863