'dendritize' originates from Modern English (a scientific formation), specifically the word 'dendrite' (from Greek 'dendron'), where 'dendron' meant 'tree', combined with the verb-forming suffix '-ize' (from Greek '-izein' via Latin/French).

'dendritize' changed from the modern English scientific noun 'dendrite' (borrowed in the 19th century from Greek via New Latin) with the addition of the productive English suffix '-ize', and was established as a technical verb in 20th-century scientific usage.

Initially it carried the general sense 'to make tree-like,' but over time it evolved into the current specialized meaning 'to form dendrites (in neurons or cells)'.