'apographal' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apographē', where 'apo-' meant 'away/from' and 'graphein' meant 'to write'.

'apographal' developed in English from the noun 'apograph' (from Medieval/Latin adaptations of Greek 'apographē') with the addition of the adjectival suffix '-al' to form 'apographal'.

Initially it referred to 'a copy' (the noun sense), but over time it evolved into the adjectival sense 'pertaining to a copy' used in modern English.