'vascularize' originates from New Latin/Latin, specifically from the Late Latin adjective 'vascularis' (from Latin 'vasculum'), where 'vas' meant 'vessel' and the diminutive '-culum' indicated 'small vessel'; the verb-forming suffix '-ize' comes from Greek '-izein' via Latin/French.

'vascularize' changed from Late Latin/Neo-Latin 'vascularis' and from French formations such as 'vasculariser' into the modern English verb 'vascularize' and its past participle 'vascularized'.

Initially it meant 'relating to vessels' (pertaining to vessels), but over time it evolved into the verbal/adjectival sense 'to supply with blood vessels' or 'supplied with blood vessels' used in medical contexts.