'hydrolyzate' originates from scientific English, ultimately from Greek roots: 'hydro-' meaning 'water' and 'lysis' meaning 'loosening; dissolution', with the noun-forming suffix '-ate' denoting a product. The 'z' reflects American spelling variation.

'hydrolysis' (New Latin, from Greek elements) yielded the English noun 'hydrolysate' in late 19th–early 20th century scientific usage; American English later adopted the variant spelling 'hydrolyzate'.

Initially, it meant 'a substance produced by hydrolysis', and this meaning has remained essentially unchanged in modern usage.