industrialization

Etymology

It is formed from English industrialize + -ation, perhaps after French industrialisation, recorded in 1847.^[2][3] Industrialize is formed from industrial and -ize, probably on the model of industrialiser (1842).^[3] The adjective is from French industriel, from Medieval Latin industrialis, from Latin industria (“diligence, activity”), the source of industry.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The development of industries on a wide scale: 1892, in The Times of 16 April.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED began its quotations in 1906,^[4] and Etymonline dates the noun to 1883.^[3] The verb industrialize is older, from 1845.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the building up of industry in a country or region, the word has been used for turning an activity or organization into an industry.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1892 – the large-scale development of industries in a country or region.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1883.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The process of building up industries on a large scale in a country or region, or the state of having been industrialized: Rapid industrialization drew millions from the countryside into the cities.^[5][2]
2. The conversion of an activity or organization into an industry.^[2][4]

Word family

• deindustrialization
• overindustrialization
• reindustrialization

Related words

• industrial
• industrialist
• industrialize
• industry

Usage notes

The British spelling is also industrialisation.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster