'athetize' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'atheteō', where 'a-' meant 'not' and 'theteō' (from tithemi/thethēnai) meant 'to place' or 'to set'.

'athetize' changed from Late Greek/Medieval Latin formations (compare Medieval Latin 'athetizare') and was borrowed into English as the verb 'athetize' used in scholarly contexts.

Initially it meant 'to set aside or reject' in the sense of annulment; over time it came to be used particularly in textual and scholarly contexts to mean 'to mark as spurious or to exclude a passage.'