What does digitalize mean?
"Digitalize" is a verb with two distinct uses. Its dominant sense is to convert information, documents, images, sound, or entire workflows into digital form so they can be stored, processed, and transmitted by computers — libraries digitalize archives, hospitals digitalize patient files, and companies digitalize their operations. The word also carries an older, specialized medical meaning: to administer digitalis, a heart medication derived from foxglove, in doses sufficient to regulate or strengthen a patient's heartbeat. Both senses trace back to the Latin "digitus," meaning finger or toe, which also gave English the word "digit." In everyday modern writing, the shorter spelling "digitize" is far more common, and style guides increasingly favor it; "digitalize" persists mainly in British usage and in cardiology. Related forms include "digitalization" as the noun.
To convert information, media, or processes into a digital format that can be handled by computers.
"The broadcaster plans to digitalize its entire film archive over the next five years."
(Medicine) To administer digitalis to a patient in order to regulate or strengthen cardiac contractions.
"The cardiologist decided to digitalize the patient before the procedure."
This sense is restricted to clinical contexts and derives from the drug name digitalis rather than from computing terminology.
Before it meant scanning old photos, "digitalize" was what cardiologists did with the drug digitalis — derived from foxglove, Latin digitus (finger), because the flower fits a fingertip.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of digitalize
Both senses of "digitalize" derive from the Latin "digitus" (finger or toe), via the adjective "digital." The computing sense arose in the twentieth century alongside the rise of computers, treating information as countable digits. The medical sense, established earlier, refers to treatment with digitalis, a drug extracted from foxglove, a plant named for flowers said to fit neatly over a finger. "Digitize" emerged as a shorter variant of the computing sense and has largely displaced it.
Related word forms
How digitalize is actually used
In general usage, "digitize" is now strongly preferred and far more frequent, especially in American English. "Digitalize" survives chiefly as a variant spelling and in the specialized medical sense relating to digitalis therapy.
Easily confused with digitalize
"Digitize" is the far more common spelling for converting information to digital form, while "digitalize" is preferred in medical contexts for administering digitalis — though many dictionaries treat them as variants of the same word.