'assonate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'assonare', where the prefix 'ad-' (later assimilated to 'as-') meant 'to' or 'toward' and 'sonare' meant 'to sound'.

'assonate' changed from Latin 'assonare' (and medieval/late-Latin forms like 'assonatus') and was adopted into English usage via learned borrowing; it is related to the noun 'assonance' and the adjective 'assonant'.

Initially it meant 'to cause sound' or 'to sound toward/with', but over time the sense specialized to 'to produce assonance' — to make vowel sounds correspond for poetic or phonetic effect.