'IgE-mediated' originates from modern English, formed by the abbreviation 'IgE' (from the phrase 'immunoglobulin E') combined with the past-participial adjective 'mediated'. 'Immunoglobulin' traces to Latin 'immunis' meaning 'exempt' and Latin/Neo-Latin 'globulin' from 'globulus' meaning 'small round body', while 'mediate' comes from Latin 'mediare' meaning 'to be in the middle'.

'IgE' as the name for a class of immunoglobulins was introduced in the 1960s after the antibody class E was identified; the verb 'mediate' developed from Latin 'mediare' through Old French and Middle English into modern English 'mediate' and its participle 'mediated'. These elements were combined in modern medical English to form the compound adjective 'IgE-mediated'.

Initially, the roots referred separately to 'immunity/exemption' (immuno-) and 'being in the middle' (mediate). Over time, in medical usage the compound came to mean specifically 'caused or driven by immunoglobulin E' describing a mechanistic pathway of allergic responses.