'exoticize' originates from modern English formation combining 'exotic' and the verb-forming suffix '-ize'. 'Exotic' itself comes from Greek 'exōtikos' where 'exō' meant 'outside' or 'from without'. The suffix '-ize' ultimately derives from Greek '-izein' meaning 'to make' (via Latin and Old French verb-forming patterns).

'exotic' entered English via Latin/French from Greek 'exōtikos'; later English productivity added the suffix '-ize' to form 'exoticize' (to make or treat as exotic). The gerund/present-participle form 'exoticizing' is the regular -ing form of that verb.

Initially related to the idea of 'from outside' or 'foreign', the verb formation came to mean 'to render or present something as foreign or strikingly unusual'. Over time the term has also gained critical sense when it describes stereotyped or romanticized portrayals.