Localized

How to spell localized

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce localized

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does localized mean?

1. adjectiveRestricted or confined to a particular area or place rather than spread widely.
2. verbAdapted or restricted something to a particular place, market, or language; the past tense of localize.

Localized in a sentence

• adjective

  The infection stayed localized to one corner of the lung.

• verb

  The studio localized the game for the Japanese market last spring.

• adjective

  The power outage was localized to a few streets near the river.

• verb

  The team localized the software so the menus appeared in French.

Where does localized come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin locus, which simply meant 'a place' or 'a position', the same root that gives us 'location', 'locate' and 'locale'. From locus came the medieval Latin adjective localis, meaning 'belonging to a particular place', and English borrowed that as 'local' in the late 1300s. The verb 'localize', meaning to confine or restrict something to one place, was coined in the early 1700s by adding the Greek-derived suffix '-ize', which forms verbs meaning 'to make' or 'to render'. The past form 'localized' simply adds the regular '-d' ending. The spelling with a 'z' reflects the suffix's Greek '-izein' ancestry, and although British writers often prefer the '-ised' spelling, the '-ized' form is equally standard in American and Canadian English and in Oxford house style.

How the word is built

• local- (from Latin locus: place)
• -ize (verb-forming suffix: to make or render)
• -d (past tense/past participle)

British and American spelling

Localized is the American spelling. British English spells it localised.