naturalize

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to establish a plant or animal outside its native range so that it reproduces without human help

   The mild coastal climate allowed the imported shrub to naturalize rapidly.

2. 2
   verb

   to grant a foreign national the legal rights and status of a citizen

   The country naturalized her after she had met the residency requirements.

3. 3
   verb

   to adapt a word, custom, or idea so that it seems native or familiar in a new setting

   Translators sometimes naturalize a foreign idiom for local readers.

Borrowed from Middle French naturaliser, formed from natural + -ize and ultimately Latin naturalis, 'of nature or birth.' The citizenship sense treats someone as native by law; the biological sense treats an introduced species as established in nature.

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