'attractile' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'attrahere', where the prefix 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'trahere' meant 'to draw'.

'attractile' developed from Late/Medieval Latin adjectival formations (compare hypothetical 'attractilis' or related Neo-Latin forms) and entered English usage as a technical adjective describing the capacity to be drawn or attracted, particularly in biological descriptions.

Initially the Latin root referred to the action 'to draw toward'; over time an adjectival form in English came to mean 'capable of being drawn toward' or 'showing attraction' in technical contexts.