'atticize' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'Attikos' (Ἀττικός), where the root denoted 'of Attica' (relating to Athens); the English verb was formed with the suffix '-ize' (via Latin/Old French usage) meaning 'to make or to become'.

'atticize' entered English via New/Modern Latin and scholarly usage (from 'Atticus'/'Attikos' plus the verbalizing suffix '-ize') and has been used in English from the 17th–18th centuries onward to mean adopting Attic dialect or style.

Initially it meant 'to use or imitate the Attic dialect' and over time it broadened to 'render or adapt a text or style to the Attic (classical) manner'; this core literary sense has largely remained.