Etymologically
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minimize

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈmɪn.ɪ.maɪz/[1]
  • US: /ˈmɪn.ɪˌmaɪz/, /ˈmɪn.əˌmaɪz/[1]

Etymology

It was formed in English from Latin minimus (“smallest, least”) and the suffix -ize,[2][3] or from minimum and -ize,[4][5][6] and the philosopher Jeremy Bentham is credited with coining it.[7][6] The OED compares maximize.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To reduce something, especially something unwanted, to the smallest possible amount, extent or degree: 1815, in Bentham's Chrestomathia.[2] Etymonline dates it to Bentham in 1802;[6] Merriam-Webster gives 1825, and Dictionary.com 1795–1805.[6][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The second main sense, to represent something as less important or valuable than it is, to play it down or belittle it, appears from 1866,[2] or 1875 according to Etymonline.[6] Between 1875 and 1898 theologians, John Henry Newman among them, used minimize intransitively for taking the most moderate view possible of what a doctrine required.[2] Mathematicians have used it since 1901 for making a function take its least value, and since 1973 it has also been used intransitively, to reach a minimum.[2]

Timeline

  • 1802 – Etymonline's date, in Bentham.[6]
  • 1815 – to reduce to the smallest possible amount.[2]
  • 1866 – to play down, belittle.[2]
  • 1875 – (theology) to take the most moderate view of a doctrine (obsolete).[2]
  • 1901 – (mathematics) to give a function its least value.[2]
  • 1973 – intransitive, to reach a minimum.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To reduce something to the smallest possible amount, extent or degree: Wear gloves to minimize the risk of infection.
  2. To represent something as less important or valuable than it really is; to belittle or play down.
  3. (mathematics) To make a function take its least value.
  4. (computing) To reduce a window to an icon or a button on the screen.

Word family

  • minimization
  • minimizer
  • unminimized

Usage notes

The OED notes that some usage guides object to the sense "play down", especially when it is qualified by adverbs, although such use appears to be uncommon.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.