grammaticalization

/ɡɹəˌmæ.tɪ.kə.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

noun

The process of making grammatical.

Similar
grammaticizationgrammatization
OriginFrench grammaticalisation →
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Meanings

noungrammaticalization (countable and uncountable, plural grammaticalizations)

plural grammaticalizations · alternative grammaticalisation

  1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe process of making grammatical.
  2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe process of language change by which a word or morpheme is reduced to more of a grammeme than a lexeme, for example the reduction of a content word representing an object or action (a noun or verb) to a clitic.

    Synonyms: grammaticization, grammatization

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe process of language change by which a word or morpheme is reduced to more of a grammeme than a lexeme, for example the reduction of a content word representing an object or action (a noun or verb) to a clitic.

Similar
grammaticizationgrammatization
Narrower
semantic bleaching
Also see
grammaticizationgrammatization

Origin

  1. Frenchgrammaticalisation
  2. Englishgrammaticalization

From French grammaticalisation, coined in 1912 by the French linguist Antoine Meillet, corresponding to grammatical + -ization.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic التَّحَوُّلُ النَّحْوِيّ
  • التَّحَوُّلُ النَّحْوِيّ (at-taḥawwulu n-naḥwiyy)the process of language change by which a word or morpheme is reduced to more of a grammeme than a lexeme
Chinese Mandarin 語法化 /语法化
  • 語法化 /语法化 (yǔfǎhuà)the process of making grammatical
Czech gramatikalizace
  • gramatikalizacethe process of making grammatical
French grammaticalisation
  • grammaticalisationthe process of making grammatical
German Grammatikalisierung
  • Grammatikalisierungthe process of making grammatical
Greek γραμματικοποίηση
  • γραμματικοποίηση (grammatikopoíisi)the process of making grammatical
Hungarian grammatikalizáció
  • grammatikalizációthe process of making grammatical
Polish gramatykalizacja, gramatykalizacja
  • gramatykalizacjathe process of making grammatical
  • gramatykalizacjathe process of language change by which a word or morpheme is reduced to more of a grammeme than a lexeme
Portuguese gramaticalização
  • gramaticalizaçãothe process of making grammatical
Russian грамматикализация, грамматиза́ция
  • грамматикализация (grammatikalizacija)the process of making grammatical
  • грамматиза́ция (grammatizácija)the process of making grammatical
Slovak gramatikalizácia
  • gramatikalizáciathe process of making grammatical
Spanish gramaticalización
  • gramaticalizaciónthe process of making grammatical
Cite this entry
APA

grammaticalization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grammaticalization

MLA

“grammaticalization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grammaticalization. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grammaticalization,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grammaticalization.

Source: grammaticalization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.