Well attestedNamed from the place
Finlandize
verb · first attested 1960s
One of the few country names that English turned into a transitive verb for something done to a country.
To reduce a country to deferring to a powerful neighbor in foreign policy while leaving its internal system alone.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 1960s
- Part of speech
- verb
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Finland
- In English
Finlandize
English took the noun from German Finnlandisierung and then built the verb on it, so that a great power can be said to Finlandize its neighbors. Cold War commentators used it as a warning about what might happen to West Germany or Austria, and Finnish officials rejected the usage. It reappeared in debate about Ukraine after 2014.
Also pinned to Finland
1 more from the same place
Finland
All 3 entries