'apostrophize' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apostrophē,' where 'apo-' meant 'away' and 'strophē' meant 'turning,' combined with the suffix '-ize' meaning 'to make or render.'

'apostrophē' entered English as 'apostrophe' via Latin and French (Late Latin/Medieval Latin 'apostrophus' and Old French), and the verb 'apostrophize' was formed later in English by adding the productive suffix '-ize' to 'apostrophe.'

Initially related to the notion of 'turning away' or the noun 'apostrophe' (a mark or rhetorical turning away); over time it evolved into the verb sense 'to mark with an apostrophe' and the rhetorical sense 'to address the absent or personified.'