'abdominal' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'abdomen', where 'abdo-' meant 'to hide' and '-men' was a suffix used to form nouns.

'abdomen' transformed into the French word 'abdominal', and eventually became the modern English word 'abdominal' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'relating to the belly or stomach area', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.