Standard Lemma guide

creolize

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈkɹiːəlaɪz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K R IY1 OW2 L AY2 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To cause a pidgin language rapidly expanding in vocabulary and grammatical rules to become ultimately a creole.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To render an imported object 'localised'; to produce variations which give an object a regional flavour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

develop into a creole

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • pidgins often creolize

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Portuguese crioulobor. Spanish criollo French créolebor. English Creole English creole Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English creolize From creole + -ize.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: créoliser — to cause a pidgin language to become a creole
  • Portuguese: crioulizar — to cause a pidgin language to become a creole