'arabize' originates from English, specifically formed from the noun 'Arab' (ultimately from Arabic 'ʿarab') combined with the verb-forming suffix '-ize' (from Greek/Latin via Old French), where 'Arab' meant 'an Arab (a member of the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula)' and '-ize' meant 'to make or to do'.

'Arab' passed into English via Middle English and Old French ('Arabe') from Latin and Greek forms referring to the region and people ('Arabia', Greek 'Arabía'), ultimately from Arabic 'ʿarab'; the productive English suffix '-ize' (from Greek '-izein' through Latin/Old French) was attached in modern English to form the verb 'arabize'.

Initially related forms denoted 'of or relating to Arabs' or 'from Arabia'; with the addition of '-ize' the modern verb came to mean 'to make or render into Arabic' (language, script, style, or cultural traits).