'aseptify' originates from Modern English, formed from 'aseptic' + the verb-forming suffix '-ify' (from Latin '-ificare'/'facere'), where 'aseptic' comes via New Latin from Greek 'aseptikos' meaning 'not putrid' (a- 'not' + 'septikos' 'putrefactive').

'aseptic' came into English via New Latin 'asepticus' from Greek 'aseptikos'; the productive English suffix '-ify' (from Latin through Old French) was attached to create the verb 'aseptify' meaning 'to make aseptic'.

Initially the Greek-based element meant 'without putrefaction' or 'not causing decay'; over time it has been used in English to mean 'free from infection or contamination', and 'aseptify' carries the action sense 'to make free from infection'.