centralizedadj.
/ˈsɛntrəlʌɪzd/, /ˈsɛntrl̩ʌɪzd/, U.S. /ˈsɛntrəˌlaɪzd/ 1. Concentrated or brought together at a centre; relating to or controlled from a centre; esp. (frequently with reference to government and administration) that has undergone centralization; characterized by centralization. Cf. centralization n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the system of government > centralized or regionalized systems > [adjective] > centralized or centralizing
central1777
centralized1799
centralist1827
centralizing1832
unitarist1862
1799 Morning Post & Gazetteer 17 Dec. The Public Administration shall be more centralized and less expensive.
1833 D. Urquhart Turkey & its Resources App. 325 The extensive, cumbersome, and ill-adjusted machinery of centralized [tax] collection.
1858 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 6 238 As the treasures of Art accumulate..they should not be allowed to form an overgrown wearisome centralized collection, located only in one spot of the metropolis.
1875 H. J. S. Maine Lect. Early Hist. Inst. i. 11 The formation of strong centralised governments concentrating in themselves the public force of the community.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. vi. 112 The beginning of a centralized nervous system, very different from the nerve-network of a sea-anemone.
1965 Britannia Bk. of Year (U.S.) 869/1 Education park. A large centralized campus housing schools at all educational levels.
1993 Time 26 July 19/2 She began discussing the single-payer health care system..—the more fully centralized approach favored by many liberals.
2011 T. Yamagishi War & Health Insurance in Japan & U.S. 4 The Japanese political structure is more centralized than the American one.
2. In a physical or spatial sense: positioned centrally; that is or has been made central in terms of location or form.
ΚΠ
1857 Canada Directory 1857–8 761 Thanks to her [sc. Toronto's] steady energy and enterprise, no less than to her centralized position, she is already reaping the first-fruits of her new connections in an extending trade.
1891 Iron Age 5 Nov. 813/1 Among the advantages possessed by this form [of screw] over the old style, may be noticed the centralized point, which allows it to be started evenly and easily.
1936 Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geographers 26 149 Centralized locations also afford better opportunities to serve markets outside the local basin.
1978 N. Pevsner & E. Williamson Derbyshire (rev. ed.) Introd. 36 The centralized hall, high basement, and projecting corner towers amongst other things the house shares with Wollaton.
2011 RES 59 312/1 A centralized doorway situated within an open piazza.
3. Phonetics. Of a vowel: that has become more central (see central adj. 7); produced with the tongue in a more central position than the corresponding cardinal vowel.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of
openeOE
sharp?1533
simple1582
small1599
soft1625
obscurea1637
round1710
slender1755
close1760
wide1824
lowered1836
narrow1844
labialized1856
orinasal1856
central1857
reduced1861
free1864
high1867
low1867
mid1867
mixed1867
rounded1867
unrounded1871
raised1876
unreduced1894
obscured1897
spread1902
lax1909
slack1909
tense1909
centralized1926
flat1934
r-coloured1935
checked1943
1926 Bull. School Oriental Stud. 4 142 An abnormally large number of centralized vowels, whose quality is somewhat obscure and difficult to register.
1937 Amer. Speech 12 24 The centralized modern vowel [ɝ] or [ɜ] was apparently coming into use in the Guildford community at about this time.
1965 W. S. Allen Vox Latina ii. 57 The sound in question must..have been a more centralized, i.e. fronted, variety of u than the inherited short u.
2003 Lang. in Soc. 32 454 Forty years ago, Labov asked why the centralized /ay/ diphthong had been left after the Great Vowel Shift.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.1799