'apostrophise' originates from English formation combining the noun 'apostrophe' with the verb-forming suffix '-ise' (from French '-iser'), where 'apostrophe' ultimately derives from Greek.

'apostrophe' comes via Middle English from Old French 'apostr[ o]fe' and Latinized form 'apostrophus', which in turn traces to Greek 'apostrophē' (ἀποστροφή). The verb 'apostrophise' developed in modern English by adding the suffix '-ise' to the noun 'apostrophe'.

Initially the Greek root meant 'a turning away' (literally 'turning away'), which in classical usage became a term for a rhetorical 'address' and later a name for the punctuation mark; the verb evolved to mean both 'to mark with an apostrophe' and 'to address (rhetorically)'.