'magnetize' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'magnētēs', where 'magn-' referred to a 'stone' (a lodestone), and the suffix '-ize' comes from Greek '-izein' meaning 'to make or become'.

'magnetize' changed from Medieval/Scientific Latin forms such as 'magnetizare' and from French 'magnétiser', and eventually became the modern English word 'magnetize'.

Initially it meant 'to render magnetic or to turn into a lodestone'; over time it has kept the core sense 'to make magnetic' and acquired figurative uses meaning 'to attract strongly'.