'attractancy' originates from Latin, specifically from the verb 'attrahere' (with assimilation 'at-' from 'ad-' + 'trahere'), where 'ad-/at-' meant 'to/toward' and 'trahere' meant 'to draw or pull'. The noun-forming suffix '-ancy' comes via Old French/Latin nominal formations.

'attractancy' developed from Latin 'attrahere' → Old French/Latin-derived forms such as Middle English 'attract' (via Old French 'attracter'), combined with the noun suffix '-ance'/'-ancy' to form a noun meaning the state or quality of attracting, yielding the Modern English 'attractancy'.

Initially the root elements meant 'to draw toward; to pull', and over time the derived noun came to mean 'the quality or power of attracting' rather than the physical pulling action itself.