'apperceptual' originates from English formation based on the noun 'apperception' plus the adjectival suffix '-al'. 'Apperception' itself ultimately derives from Latin elements 'ad-' (to, toward) and 'percipere' (to perceive), via the verb 'apperceive'.

'apperceptual' formed from the English noun 'apperception' (used in philosophical and psychological writing since the 17th–18th centuries) which came from the verb 'apperceive' (from earlier English and scholarly Latin use) and originally from Latin components 'ad-' + 'percipere'.

Initially tied closely to the technical act of perceiving or becoming aware ('apperception'), over time the adjective form has come to describe processes or qualities concerned with how new perceptions or ideas are integrated into existing mental frameworks.