Etymologically
Log in

localization

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:47. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌləʊkəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/[1]
  • US: /ˌloʊkəlɪˈzeɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English localize + -ation,[2][3] a noun of action to the verb.[3] Localize is from English local + -ize, recorded from 1792 in Etymonline;[3][2] for its senses "to confine to a part of the body" and "to assign to a place", the OED compares French localiser, recorded in French from 1798 and 1801.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The organizing or establishing of something at a local level: 1812, in the Bury & Norwich Post, of a system of local auxiliary societies.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1811.[3]

Semantic evolution

The OED's three senses all appear within twenty years: organization or adaptation at a local level (1812), confinement to a particular part of the body in medicine (1826), and the assigning of a thing to a place, or the finding of its location (1832).[2] Etymonline notes that it was used especially of the perception of a sensation in some part of the body,[3] and Merriam-Webster lists the restriction of a lesion to one area and of functions such as speech or sight to particular parts of the brain.[4] The OED's first sense now includes adapting something for a local audience or market,[2] the sense in which software, video games and translated media are "localized" for a country or region.[1]

Timeline

  • 1812 – organization or adaptation at a local level.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1811.[3]
  • 1826 – in medicine, the restriction of something to one part of the body.[2]
  • 1832 – the assigning of something to a place; the finding of its location.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of localizing or the state of being localized.[4][2]
  2. The restriction of a lesion or disease to one part of the body, or of a function such as speech to one area of the brain.[4][2]
  3. The determining of the place of something, or the referring of a sensation to a particular part of the body: sound localization.[4][2]
  4. The adapting of a product, software or text to the language and customs of a particular country or region.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster