'bestialization' originates from Latin via English formation, specifically from the Latin word 'bestia', where 'bestia' meant 'beast'.

'bestialization' formed in English by combining the adjective/verb element 'bestial' (from Latin 'bestia') with the verbalizing suffix '-ize' and the noun-forming suffix '-ation'; related French and Late Latin forms influenced the English formation.

Initially the root referred simply to 'beast' ('bestia'), and over time the derived English terms came to mean 'to make beast-like' or 'the process of making beast-like', which is maintained in the modern noun 'bestialization'.