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hu·man·ize (hymə-nīz′)
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tr.v. hu·man·ized, hu·man·iz·ing, hu·man·iz·es
1. To portray or endow with human characteristics or attributes; make human: humanized the puppets with great skill.
2. To imbue with humaneness or human kindness; civilize: acts of courtesy that humanize life in a big city.
3.
a. To modify (a nonhuman compound, cell, organ, or organism) such that some of its components are replaced with human forms of those components, usually by means of genetic engineering.
b. To replace most of the variable region of (a monoclonal antibody from a nonhuman source) with a human sequence of amino acids so that the resulting antibody is more compatible with the human immune system.
hu′man·i·zation (-mə-nĭ-zāshən) n.
human·iz′er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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