Grammar

Random-ise: Jonathan Swift, ise and ise verbs

This is part of an investigation I've been doing into the use and spelling of -ize suffix verbs and their spelling (-ize or -ise) in British English. For more details, related posts and the methods I've used, see the -ize / -ise page.

I'm also interested in the development of the use of -ize suffix verbs (eg realize/realise), compared with the use of French-based -ise verbs (eg surprise). And in the extent to which there was consistency in the spelling of these verbs, or a lack of it, in early publishing.

Jonathan Swift 1667 – 1745

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Swift apparently uses relatively few -ize verbs. Apart from familiarize, all the examples in Gulliver's Travels are variations on civilize, and in the very long A Journal to Stella, I can only find one, naturalizing.

Wikipedia

List of verbs

Links are to Dictionary.com (Dict), which includes etymology, and the Online Etymology Dictionary

authorise	Dict	OE	1350–1400	earlier auctorize < Medieval Latin aucto-riza-re; replacing Middle English autorisen < Middle French autoriser < Medieval Latin
civilize	Dict	OE	1595–1605	< French civiliser
criticize	Dict	OE	1640–50	critic + -ize
familiarize	Dict	OE	1600–10	familiar + -ize
mythologize	Dict		1595–1605	mytholog(y) + -ize; compare French mythologiser
naturalize	Dict	OE	1585–95	natural + -ize
spiritualise	Dict		1625–35	spiritual + -ize

Only one of these -ize verbs appears to have come from Latin, two are from French and the rest simply add an -ize suffix to existing English words

1704 Tale of a Tub

Wikipedia
Project Gutenberg
London 1704
London 1824

	1704	1824
This parable was immediately mythologised	ize	ise
as they have spiritualised and refined them	ize	ize
This is the utmost I am authorised to say	ize	ize
that as the most uncivilised parts of mankind	ize	ize
to critise (critick) his gate and ridicule his dress at such a juncture	ick	ise

1726 Gulliver's Travels

Wikipedia
Project Gutenberg
London 1765 - Parts 1 and 2
London 1765 - Parts 1 and 2
London 1812 - Vol 12 (Scott)
London 1837
London 1838
London 1865

Appears to show a fairly common process, whereby z predominates in the eighteenth century, but with some inconsistencies. These get tidied up in the early nineteenth century and by the middle of the century s has taken over.

	1765	1837	1865
and the most barbarous become civilized	ize	ize	ise
to civilize and reduce them from their barbarous way of living	ize	ize
only a little more civilized by some tincture of reason	ise	ize	ise
perhaps a little more civilized		ize	ise
I soon grew so familiarized to the sight of spirits	ise	ize
a sufficient number of their inhabitants for civilizing Europe		ize	ise
sent to convert and civilize an idolatrous and barbarous people	ize	ize	ise
that a people who could so far civilise brute animals	ise	ize
to be understood in all civilised nations	ise	ize	ise

1729 A Modest Proposal

Wikipedia
Project Gutenberg

No -ize verbs found

1766 The Journal to Stella

Wikipedia
Project Gutenberg
London 1814 (Scott) Letters 1-37
London 1814 (Scott) Letters 38-65

	1814
The Bill to repeal the Act for naturalising Protestant foreigners	ize

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Grammar