metropolitanizev.
/ˌmɛtrəˈpɒlᵻtənʌɪz/, /ˌmɛtrəˈpɒlᵻtnʌɪz/, U.S. /ˌmɛtrəˈpɑlətnˌaɪz/, /ˌmɛtrəˈpɑlədəˌnaɪz/ transitive (usually in passive). To make metropolitan in character; to give (a person) the manners, outlook, etc., of a city dweller; to urbanize (a place).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > humanistic studies > improve the mind, cultivate [verb (transitive)]
till1393
enrich1502
refine1592
cultivate?1631
unblade1633
urbanize1642
smooth1644
culture1677
metropolitanize1870
1870 Philadelphia Press 6 Jan. 4/5 The intermediate space (between Philadelphia and New York) must be metropolitanized.
1897 Spectator 25 Dec. 919 He was himself not sufficiently metropolitanised for these efforts.
1965 Demography 2 585 The extent to which our population has become ‘metropolitanized’ was reflected in the fact that about one–third of the adult population had always lived in non–farm homes in such areas.
1994 Guardian Good Health Guide Fall–Winter 12/2 Rose says that whenever she goes back to Toronto she can't believe how her first Canadian hometown has been paved over, developed and metropolitanized.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
v.1870