'apostrophise' originates from English formation using 'apostrophe' + the verb-forming suffix '-ize'/'-ise'; 'apostrophe' ultimately comes from Greek 'apostrophē', where 'apo-' meant 'away from' and 'strephein' meant 'to turn'.

'apostrophē' (Greek) → Latin/Medieval Latin 'apostrophus' → Old French 'apostrophe' → Middle English 'apostrophe'; the verb was later formed by the addition of the suffix '-ize' (via French '-iser') to give 'apostrophize', with the British spelling later rendered as 'apostrophise'.

Initially connected with the sense 'a turning away' or 'omission' (Greek), the term came to denote the punctuation mark indicating omitted letters or possession ('apostrophe') and then the verb meaning 'to add an apostrophe' or, in rhetoric, 'to address directly'.