Civilizable

/ˈsɪvɪlaɪzəbəl/ adjective

Definition

American spelling: capable of being civilized or refined in behavior and culture.

Etymology

From civilize + -able (capable of being). American -ize spelling variant of civilisable.

Kelly Says

The debate over 'civilizability'—whether certain peoples were 'civilizable'—was central to 19th-century racist pseudoscience that attempted to rank human groups by supposed capacity for civilization, making this word a linguistic fossil of scientific racism.

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