'historicize' originates from Modern English formation combining 'historic' with the verb-forming suffix '-ize'. 'Historic' ultimately comes from Latin 'historicus' via Greek 'historikos' and 'historia' meaning 'investigation, narrative'. The suffix '-ize' comes from Greek '-izein' via Latin/French, used to form verbs meaning 'to make' or 'to render'.

'historicize' was formed in English in the 19th century by adding the productive suffix '-ize' to 'historic' (itself from Latin/Greek). The components 'historia' (Greek) and 'historicus' (Latin) contributed to the meaning of affairs or accounts of the past, and adding '-ize' produced the verb meaning 'to make or treat as historical' or 'to place in historical context'.

Initially, the elements meant 'inquiry' or 'account of past events', but with the -ize suffix the word came to mean 'to render into history' or 'to analyze/set within historical context' in modern usage.