'epigrammatize' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'epigramma', where 'epi-' meant 'upon' and 'graphein' meant 'to write'. The English verb is formed from 'epigram' + the verb-forming suffix '-ize'.

'epigramma' in Greek passed into Latin as 'epigramma' and Old French as 'epigramme', becoming English 'epigram'. From this base, English formed the verb 'epigrammatize' (modeled on formation patterns like 'programmatize'), meaning 'to render into an epigram'.

Initially it meant 'to make into an epigram' (literally to set something in the form of a written epigram); over time it has been used more generally to mean 'to express succinctly and wittily', a nuance that remains the core meaning today.