Another reason to hold the “-ize”

Add comment June 4th, 2008

I recently wrote a column about the “-izing” of nouns to create verbs. This has been going on for a long time. Sometimes the results are good, sometimes not.

I recently saw the word “monetization,” and I’m pretty sure the intended meaning was “revenue,” “profit” or “making money.” If so, any of those three works much better.

Also, the verb “monetize” has its own specific meanings. It’s either “to coin into money” or “to legalize as money.” In a way, then, it is “making money,” but not in the revenue sense.

Simpler is usually better when it comes to language.