'agatize' originates from the word 'agate', which comes from the Greek word 'achates', referring to a river in Sicily where agates were found.

'achates' transformed into the Latin word 'achates', and eventually became the modern English word 'agate', from which 'agatize' is derived.

Initially, it referred to the stone 'agate', but over time it evolved to mean the process of becoming agate-like.