THE FIRST WORD

anthropomorphization

PRONUNCIATION:

(an-thruh-puh-mor-fy-ZAY-shuhn) 

MEANING:

noun: Attribution of human qualities to things not human.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek anthropo- (human) + morph (form). Earliest documented use: 1880.

USAGE:

"But for the most part she simply relished the anthropomorphization. That the word pencil was masculine lent each pencil a boyish mischievousness. That flower was feminine endowed flowers with a maternal dignity."
Craig Boyko; Blackouts; McClelland & Stewart; 2008.