'columnate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'columna', where 'columna' meant 'a column, pillar'. The English formation uses the suffix '-ate' (from Latin '-atus') to form adjectives/verbs meaning 'provided with' or 'to provide with'.

'columnate' developed from Late Latin/medieval Latin forms such as 'columnatus' (meaning 'provided with columns') and through influence from Old French/Norman architectural vocabulary (cf. French 'colonnade'), eventually entering modern English as 'columnate'.

Initially it meant 'provided with or having columns' in a literal architectural sense; over time it has retained that core meaning and also extended to the verbal sense 'to form or furnish with columns'.