(in the Vietnam War) a US government policy of transferring the tasks of fighting and directing the war to the government and forces of South Vietnam
Vietnamization in American English
(viˌetnəməˈzeiʃən, ˌvjet-, ˌviɪt-)
noun
a U.S. policy during the Vietnam War of giving the South Vietnamese government responsibility for carrying on the war, so as to allow for the withdrawal of American troops
Word origin
[1965–70; vietnam + -ization]This word is first recorded in the period 1965–70. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Coriolis effect, genetic engineering, isometric exercise, red-eye, wraparound-ization is used to form nouns from verbs ending in -ize (organization). Other words that use the affix -ization include: arborization, cephalization, posterization, sterilization, vaporization