Etymology

cheshirization

che·shir·i·zat·ion
C3H4E1S1H4I1R1I1Z10A1T1I1O1N1

Today it means: Synonym of transphonologization (“a type of sound change whereby a phonemic contrast that used to involve a certain feature evolves in such a way that the contrast is preserved, yet becomes associated with a different feature”). Full definition →

First used 1991
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The story

From Cheshire (cat) (“fictional cat which disappeared leaving only its smile, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by the English author Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)”) + -ization (suffix forming nouns denoting the act, process, or result of doing or making something), coined by the American linguist James Matisoff (born 1937) in a 1991 book chapter entitled “Areal and Universal Dimensions of Grammatization in Lahu”.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1991 Synonym of transphonologization (“a type of sound change whereby a phonemic contrast that used to involve a certain feature evolves in such a way that the contrast is preserved, yet becomes associated with a different feature”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.