grammaticalize

[ gruh-mat-i-kuh-lahyz ]
/ grəˈmæt ɪ kəˌlaɪz /

verb (used with object), gram·mat·i·cal·ized, gram·mat·i·cal·iz·ing. Linguistics.

to convert (a content word or part of one) into a functor, as in using OE līc, “body,” as a suffix in adjectives and adverbs, such as OE frēondlīc, “friendly.”
to represent (semantic features) by grammatical categories, as plurality in English or gender in French.
Also especially British, gra·mat·i·cal·ise.

Origin of grammaticalize

First recorded in 1935–40; grammatical + -ize

OTHER WORDS FROM grammaticalize

gram·mat·i·cal·i·za·tion, noun