'arrogate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'arrogare', where the prefix 'ad-' (assimilated to 'ar-') meant 'to/toward' and 'rogare' meant 'to ask or propose'.

'arrogate' changed from Latin 'arrogare' into Late Latin/Old French forms and then entered Middle English (records as 'arrogaten'/'arrogaten'), eventually becoming the modern English 'arrogate'.

Initially, Latin 'arrogare' involved the idea of 'asking on behalf' or 'assigning by special request'; over time the English 'arrogate' came to mean 'to claim or seize (a right) for oneself, often without justification'.