The story
- Ancient Greekχαράσσω (kharássō)
- Ancient Greekχαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr)
- Ancient Greekχᾰρακτηρίζω (khăraktērízō)
- Medieval Latincharactērizō
- English todaycharacterize
From Medieval Latin charactērizō, from Ancient Greek χαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “a mark, character”). By surface analysis, character + -ize.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.