'appetize' originates from English formation based on the noun 'appetite', where 'appetite' came via Old French from Latin 'appetitus' (from 'appetere') meaning 'desire, to strive after'. The verb was later formed by adding the English suffix '-ize'.

'appetitus' (Latin) → Old French 'appetit'/'apetit' → Middle English 'appetyte'/'appetite' → modern English 'appetite'; the verb 'appetize' was formed in English (late 18th–19th century) from 'appetite' + '-ize', and the adjective 'appetizing' and adverb 'appetizingly' were derived subsequently.

Initially related to 'desire' or 'longing' (from Latin), the usage narrowed to specifically mean 'to excite the appetite'; 'appetizingly' now means 'in a manner that excites appetite or looks/smells appealing'.