'poeticize' originates from Modern English, specifically formed from the adjective 'poetic' plus the verb-forming suffix '-ize', where 'poetic' traces to 'poet' (from Greek 'poiētēs') and '-ize' meant 'to make or to render'.

'poeticize' arose by combining Middle English/Modern English elements: 'poet' (from Old French/Latin from Greek 'poiētēs' meaning 'maker' or 'poet') gave rise to 'poetic' (Middle English 'poetique'/'poeticus'), and the productive suffix '-ize' (via French/Latin) was added to form the verb 'poeticize'.

Initially the root referred to a 'maker' or 'one who composes' (from Greek 'poiēin' 'to make'), and over time the compound verb came to mean 'to make or treat in a poetic way' (and by extension 'to romanticize' in modern usage).