Customization

How to spell customization

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce customization

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does customization mean?

1. nounThe act of modifying something to suit a particular person, task, or preference.

Customization in a sentence

• The software allows deep customization of the dashboard layout.

• Extra customization of the new car pushed the price well over budget.

Where does customization come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The base word 'custom' reached English in the 1200s through Old French 'costume', which came from the Latin 'consuetudo', meaning a habit, an established usage, or a familiar practice. That Latin noun grew from 'consuescere', literally 'to grow accustomed to', built on 'suescere', to make familiar. By the 1600s English had turned the noun into the verb 'customize', adding the suffix '-ize', which entered our language from the Greek '-izein' (a common ending for forming verbs that mean 'to make or do'). Adding the Latin-derived '-ation', which marks an action or its result, produced 'customization', the act of tailoring something to individual taste. The spelling trap sits in the unstressed middle: the schwa-sounding 'om-i' and the 'z' that British writers may second-guess against the 's' of the variant 'customisation'.

How the word is built

• custom (habit, usage)
• -ize (verb-forming suffix)
• -ation (noun of action/result)