'apostrophal' originates from Greek via Latin and French, specifically the Greek word 'ἀποστροφή' (apostrophē), where 'apo-' meant 'away' and 'strephein' meant 'to turn'. The English adjective is formed by adding the suffix '-al' to 'apostrophe'.

'apostrophal' developed from the noun 'apostrophe' (from Late Latin/Old French forms of Greek 'ἀποστροφή') with the addition of the adjectival suffix '-al' in Modern English to form an adjective meaning 'relating to an apostrophe'.

Initially, the Greek root conveyed the idea of 'turning away'; over time, the word came to name a rhetorical device and then a punctuation mark ('apostrophe'), and 'apostrophal' now means 'relating to the apostrophe (punctuation) or the rhetorical apostrophe'.