'barbarize' originates from Late Latin, specifically the word 'barbarizare', where 'barbar-' meant 'foreign, barbarous'.

'barbarize' came from Greek 'barbarizein' into Late Latin 'barbarizare', passed into Middle English forms (such as 'barbarisen'), and eventually became the modern English 'barbarize'.

Initially it meant 'to treat as foreign or to render unintelligible' (related to 'barbar-' meaning foreign/uncivil), but over time it evolved to mean 'to make barbarous or to corrupt (especially language or culture)'.