'azotise' originates from French, specifically from the noun 'azote' (and the verb-forming suffix '-iser'/'-ise'), where 'azote' was used for the element nitrogen.

'azotise' was formed in English by combining the French-rooted element name 'azote' (from New Latin 'azotus') with the English/French verbal suffix '-ise'/'-ize', developing alongside English verbs like 'azotize'.

Initially, 'azote' (from Greek 'azōtos') meant 'lifeless' referring to nitrogen; the verb form later came to mean 'to treat with or convert to nitrogen'—a technical chemical sense retained in modern usage.