Jun 01 2020 1 mins 32
Anthropomorphize is a verb that means to attribute human qualities or personalities to things not human.
Our word of the day is a fairly recent addition to the English language, dating back to the early 19th century, but its origin goes back to Ancient Greek. The prefix anthrōpos (AHN throw pose) means ‘human being,’ while the suffix I-Z-E means ‘to become,’ so when we anthropomorphize something, we make it ‘become’ human — if only in our imagination.
The word is typically used when describing the behavior of animals, but it’s also possible to anthropomorphize a god or an object. For example: It makes me laugh when dad anthropomorphizes his old guitar. He talks about how much he misses it the way most people talk about a loved one.
