Canalize
[CAN-əl-iyz]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: French, 19th century
1.
Convert (a river) into a navigable canal.
2.
Convey (something) through a duct or channel.
Examples of Canalize in a sentence
"Part of leading a nonprofit is to canalize donations where they’re most necessary."
"The civil engineers agreed to canalize the river in a new direction."
About Canalize
This word comes from the French “canal,” or “chanel,” meaning "water channel, tube, pipe or gutter." It originates from the Latin “canalis,” meaning "water pipe, groove, channel." It is combined with “-ize,” a word-forming element used to make verbs.
Did you Know?
The process of canalizing can occur in a few ways in the human body, and repetition is key. In neuroscience, it is when the hypothetical process of a neural pathway’s repeated use leads to greater ease of transmission of impulses — essentially what happens in the brain when people form habits. Over time, this process becomes permanent. In psychology, canalization is when a person channels their needs into fixed patterns of gratification, such as food or recreational preferences.
