"reduce to a minimum, make as little or slight as possible," 1802, first recorded in Bentham; see minimum + -ize. As "to depreciate, treat slightingly," by 1875. Related: Minimized; minimizing.
Entries linking to minimize
minimum n.
1660s, "smallest portion into which matter is divisible," a sense now obsolete, from Latin minimum "smallest" (thing), neuter of minimus "smallest, least," superlative of minor "smaller" (from PIE root *mei- (2) "small"). Meaning "smallest amount or degree, least amount attainable" is from 1670s.
-ize
word-forming element used to make verbs, Middle English -isen, from Old French -iser/-izer, from Late Latin -izare, from Greek -izein, a verb-forming element denoting the doing of the noun or adjective to which it is attached.
The variation of -ize and -ise began in Old French and Middle English, perhaps aided by a few words (such as surprise, see below) where the ending is French or Latin, not Greek. With the classical revival, English partially reverted to the correct Greek -z- spelling from late 16c. But the 1694 edition of the authoritative French Academy dictionary standardized the spellings as -s-, which influenced English.
In Britain, despite the opposition to it (at least formerly) of OED, Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Times of London, and Fowler, -ise remains dominant. Fowler thinks this is to avoid the difficulty of remembering the short list of common words not from Greek which must be spelled with an -s- (such as advertise, devise, surprise). American English has always favored -ize. The spelling variation involves about 200 English verbs.