'atomization' ultimately derives from the verb 'atomize', which comes from Modern French 'atomiser' and Late Latin/Medieval Latin formations based on Greek 'atomos' where 'a-' meant 'not' and 'tomos' meant 'cut' (so 'atomos' meant 'uncut' or 'indivisible').

'atomization' developed in English from the verb 'atomize' (English, 17th–19th c.), which itself came from French 'atomiser' and Medieval/Latin adaptations of Greek 'atomos'; the noun-forming suffix '-ation' was added in English to create 'atomization'.

Originally tied to the Greek idea of something 'indivisible' ('atomos'), the term shifted to mean 'to reduce to atoms or fine particles' and later broadened to include producing fine sprays and figurative senses of fragmentation.