'applique' originates from French, specifically the word 'appliqué', where the French verb 'appliquer' comes ultimately from Latin 'applicare', with the prefix 'ad-' (to/toward) and the root 'plicare' (to fold or to lay).

'applique' changed from French 'appliqué' (past participle of 'appliquer') and earlier from Latin 'applicare'; the term entered English in the 19th century via French needlework and decorative-arts usage.

Initially, it meant 'to apply or attach' (the action of applying); over time it came to refer specifically to the attached decorative piece or the craft of attaching such pieces.