'aphelion' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'aphélios' (ἀφήλιος), where 'apo-' meant 'away' and 'hḗlios' meant 'sun'; 'related' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'relatus' (past participle of 'referre'), where 're-' meant 'back' and 'ferre' meant 'to carry or bear'.

'aphelion' passed into New Latin as 'aphelium' and then into English as 'aphelion'; 'related' entered English via Old French from Latin 'referre' → 'relatus', and the modern compound 'aphelion-related' formed in English by combining the noun 'aphelion' with the adjective-forming/relational element 'related'.

Initially 'aphelion' literally meant 'away from the sun' in Greek and 'related' meant 'carried back/connected' in Latin; over time the compound came to mean specifically 'connected with the point in an orbit farthest from the sun'.