COLONIZE

colonize, colonise

(verb) settle as colonists or establish a colony (in); “The British colonized the East Coast”

colonize, colonise

(verb) settle as a colony; of countries in the developing world; “Europeans colonized Africa in the 17th century”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

colonize (third-person singular simple present colonizes, present participle colonizing, simple past and past participle colonized)

(transitive) To settle (a place) with colonists, and hence make (a place) into a colony.

(transitive) To settle (a group of people, a species, or the like) in a place as a colony.

(transitive) To settle among and establish control over (the indigenous people of an area).

(intransitive) To begin a colony or colonies.

(transitive, social sciences, by extension) To intrude into and take over (the autonomy, experience, social movement, etc, of a less powerful person or group); to commandeer or appropriate.

Source: Wiktionary

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Col"o*nize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Colonized; p. pr. & vb. n. Colonizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. coloniser.]

Definition: To plant or establish a colony or colonies in; to people with colonists; to migrate to and settle in. Bacon. They that would thus colonize the stars with inhabitants. Howell.

Col"o*nize, v. i.

Definition: To remove to, and settle in, a distant country; to make a colony. C. Buchanan.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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