'apotheosise' originates from Greek via Latin and Modern English verb-forming suffixes: it is formed from the noun 'apotheosis' (from Greek 'apothéōsis') with the verbalizing suffix '-ize' (in British spelling '-ise'). In Greek 'apo-' meant 'away from' and 'theos' meant 'god'.

'apotheosis' comes from Ancient Greek 'ἀποθέωσις' (apothéōsis), which passed into Late Latin as 'apotheosis' and then into English; the verb was later created in English as 'apotheosize' (US) / 'apotheosise' (UK) by adding the productive suffix '-ize/-ise'.

Initially it meant 'the act of making a god' (a literal deification); over time it evolved to include the figurative sense 'to exalt or glorify greatly', which is the predominant modern usage.