'foreignise' originates from English, specifically the word 'foreign' combined with the verb-forming suffix '-ise' (from French '-iser'), where 'foreign' originally meant 'from outside'.

'foreign' changed from Old French 'forain' (or Middle English forms) and ultimately from Latin 'foris' meaning 'outside'; the suffix '-ise' came via French '-iser', and these elements combined to form 'foreignise' and the derived form 'foreignising'.

Initially, the root meant 'from outside' or 'outside'; over time the verb 'foreignise' came to mean 'to make or render something foreign' or, in translation theory, 'to preserve foreignness'.