'ase' originates from New Latin/Neo-Latin, specifically from the word 'diastase', where Greek 'diastasis' meant 'separation'.

'ase' was generalized from the enzyme name 'diastase' (coined in the 19th century) and eventually became a productive suffix used to form many enzyme names in modern English.

Initially, it referred specifically to the enzyme 'diastase'; over time it evolved into the general suffix used to name enzymes.