'arborize' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'arbor', where 'arbor' meant 'tree', combined with the suffix '-ize' (via Greek '-izein') meaning 'to make or to cause to be'.

'arborize' changed from Medieval/Neo-Latin forms such as 'arborizare' or 'arborizare' and later entered English as the verb 'arborize' (also spelled 'arborise' in British usage).

Initially it meant 'to make tree-like or furnish with trees/branches'; over time it came to be used more generally as 'to form branches' or 'to branch out'.