American spelling: to make into or treat as an emblem; to serve as a symbol for something.
From emblematic plus -ize (American spelling), following the Greek-derived suffix that forms verbs. This is the American English standard for this word.
American English kept the -ize spelling that the British borrowed from the Greeks, while British English later switched to -ise—making Americans the accidental conservatives of etymology, still using the original Greek suffix form.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.