'vivify' originates from Latin, specifically the Late Latin word 'vivificare', where 'vivus' meant 'living' and the suffix '-ficare' (from 'facere') meant 'to make'.

'vivify' changed from Late Latin 'vivificare' to Old/Middle French forms such as 'vivifier' and eventually entered Modern English as 'vivify'.

Initially, it meant 'to make alive' (literally 'make living'), but over time it broadened to the current sense of 'to enliven, invigorate, or make more vivid'.