standardization

Etymology

It is formed from English standardize + -ation,^[2][3] the verb being itself formed from English standard + -ize,^[2][3] which Klein calls a hybrid, the suffix being of Greek origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of standardizing: 1883, in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED had its first record from 1896,^[5] and Etymonline dates the word to 1886, first in pharmacology publications.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline defines the word as the act or process of bringing things to a uniform size or quality,^[3] and the OED uses it for the action of the verb in its various senses, and for an instance of it.^[2] The verb meant first to make something conform to a standard size, strength or composition (1792), then to test the properties of something by comparison with a standard (1870), and later, from 1896, to bring an activity or procedure into line with a norm.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged adds the state in which a standard has been reached and applied.^[6]

Timeline

• 1792 – the verb standardize, to make conform to a standard.^[2]
• 1883 – the action of standardizing.^[2] Etymonline dates the noun to 1886.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or process of making things conform to a standard of size, quality, form or the like: the standardization of railway gauges.^[6][2][3]
2. The condition in which a standard has been reached and is applied.^[6]
3. A single instance of standardizing.^[2]

Related words

• standard
• standardize

Usage notes

The spelling standardisation is chiefly British.^[6][3]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster