'docetic' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'doceticus', where the Greek root 'dokein' meant 'to seem' or 'to appear'.

'docetic' traces back from Greek 'dokētikos' (δοκητικός) meaning 'pertaining to seeming', through Late/Medieval Latin 'doceticus' and New Latin adoption, eventually entering English as 'docetic'.

Initially it referred generally to 'pertaining to seeming or appearance'; over time it acquired a specialized theological sense referring to the doctrines of Docetism and more broadly the sense 'merely apparent or illusory'.