'appendicostomy' originates from New Latin/medical English, combining the combining form 'appendico-' (from Latin 'appendix', originally meaning 'that which is attached') and the Greek-derived suffix '-stomy' (from Greek 'stóma', meaning 'mouth' or 'opening').

'appendicostomy' changed from the Latin word 'appendix' (from Latin 'appendere', 'to hang upon') and the Greek word 'stóma' ('mouth, opening'); these elements entered New Latin and surgical terminology as 'appendico-' + '-stomy' and eventually formed the modern English medical term 'appendicostomy'.

Initially, 'appendix' referred to a hanging or attached part and 'stoma' meant 'mouth' or 'opening'; over time the combined term came to mean specifically the surgical creation of an opening using the appendix.