Standard Lemma guide

grammaticalization

noun · 2 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

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  • grə-mă'-tĭ-kə-lĭ-zā'-shən
  • /ɡɹəˌmæ.tɪ.kə.lɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The process of making grammatical.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The 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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: grammaticization, grammatization

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 語法化 /语法化 (yǔfǎhuà) — the process of making grammatical
  • Czech: gramatikalizace — the process of making grammatical
  • French: grammaticalisation — the process of making grammatical
  • German: Grammatikalisierung — the process of making grammatical
  • Greek: γραμματικοποίηση (grammatikopoíisi) — the process of making grammatical
  • Hungarian: grammatikalizáció — the process of making grammatical
  • Polish: gramatykalizacja — the process of making grammatical
  • Portuguese: gramaticalização — the process of making grammatical
  • Russian: грамматикализация (grammatikalizacija) — the process of making grammatical
  • Russian: грамматиза́ция (grammatizácija) — the process of making grammatical
  • Slovak: gramatikalizácia — the process of making grammatical
  • Spanish: gramaticalización — the process of making grammatical
  • Arabic: التَّحَوُّلُ النَّحْوِيّ (at-taḥawwulu an-naḥwiyy) — the process of language change by which a word or morpheme is reduced to more of a grammeme than a lexeme