nativize (1948)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

nativize = 'to adapt (a loan word) to the phonetic structure of the native
language' (OED3 has 1970)


1948 _Language_ 24 (Oct-Dec) 340-1 Native Chiricahua words never begin
with _l_ or _ž_; these phonemes occur only medially and in final position.
When, however, Chiricahua borrowed the Spanish words _loco_ 'crazy' and
_rico_ 'rich', which were nativized as _lô·gò_ and  _žî·gò_ respectively,
both _l_ and _ž_ acquired new positions of occurrence, so far confined to
these words and their several derived forms.

(In Harry Hoijer's article, "Linguistic and Cultural Change")


--Ben Zimmer