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Origin and history of denationalize

denationalize(v.)

1807, "to deprive of nationality, remove or destroy the distinct nationality of," from French dénationaliser, which was said in contemporary English publications to have been coined by Napoleon Bonaparte in reference to the nations he had conquered and absorbed into France (denapoleonize was coined shortly thereafter); see de- + nationalize. Meaning "to transfer (an industry, etc.) from national to private ownership" is by 1921. Related: Denationalized; denationalization.

also from 1807

Entries linking to denationalize

nationalize(v.)

1794, "invest with a national character;" see national + -ize. Probably inspired by French nationaliser, noted by 1795 as one of the coinages of the Revolution. Meaning "bring under state control" is from 1869. Related: Nationalized; nationalizing.

de-

active word-forming element in English and in many verbs inherited from French and Latin, from Latin de "down, down from, from, off; concerning" (see de), also used as a prefix in Latin, usually meaning "down, off, away, from among, down from," but also "down to the bottom, totally" hence "completely" (intensive or completive), which is its sense in many English words.

As a Latin prefix it also had the function of undoing or reversing a verb's action, and hence it came to be used as a pure privative — "not, do the opposite of, undo" — which is its primary function as a living prefix in English, as in defrost (1895), defuse (1943), de-escalate (1964), etc. In some cases, a reduced form of dis-.

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