'apotheosize' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apothéōsis' (or the verb 'apotheoun'), where the prefix 'apo-' meant 'away/from' and 'theos' meant 'god'.

'apotheosize' changed from the Greek/Latin noun 'apothéōsis' (entered English via Late Latin and French as 'apotheosis') and later became the English verb 'apotheosize' through the addition of the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize'.

Initially it meant 'the act of making into a god' (deification); over time it also came to be used more loosely to mean 'to idealize or exalt (someone or something) highly', sometimes figuratively.