'serialize' originates from English, specifically formed from the adjective 'serial' plus the verb-forming suffix '-ize'; 'serial' ultimately comes from Latin 'series' meaning 'a succession' or 'row'.

'serialize' was formed in modern English by combining 'serial' (from French/Latin origins) with the productive English suffix '-ize' (from Greek/Latin via French), and the word has been used since the 19th century to mean 'to make into a series' (e.g. publish in parts).

Initially, it meant 'to make into a series' or 'to publish in successive parts'; over time, especially in the 20th century, it acquired the technical computing sense 'to convert data into a storable/transmittable format'.