'protonize' originates from English, specifically by combining the noun 'proton' and the suffix '-ize', where 'proton' ultimately comes from Greek 'protos' and '-ize' comes from Greek '-izein' meaning 'to make or to do'.

'protonize' changed from modern scientific coinage formed by analogy: English adopted 'proton' (from New Latin/Greek) to name the subatomic particle, and later English verbs were formed by adding the productive suffix '-ize', resulting in 'protonize'.

Initially, the Greek root 'protos' meant 'first', but over time it gave rise to the scientific term 'proton' meaning the positively charged subatomic particle, and 'protonize' evolved to mean 'to add a proton'.