bowdlerize

Where does the word "bowdlerize" come from? It comes from English Bowdler, and was adopted directly into English (1836).

Bowdlerize’s story begins in English: Bowdler meant “a family name.” Thomas Bowdler's Family Shakespeare (1818), expanding his sister Henrietta's anonymous 1807 edition, cut words 'which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family'. It reached English by 1836 as bowdlerize. Within two decades his name meant any prudish expurgation of a text. Today, bowdlerize means to remove material considered improper from a text.

1. Stage 1 · English · 1818 Bowdler "a family name", Thomas Bowdler's Family Shakespeare (1818), expanding his sister Henrietta's anonymous 1807 edition, cut words 'which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1836 bowdlerize "to censor prudishly", within two decades his name meant any prudish expurgation of a text.