'areolation' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'areola' (a diminutive of 'area'), where 'area' meant 'open space' or 'level ground' and the diminutive '-ola' indicated a small area.

'areolation' was formed in English by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ation' to 'areolate'/'areola' (borrowed into English from Late Latin). The element 'areola' itself comes from Latin 'area' and passed into scientific English to refer to small defined areas before the derived noun 'areolation' was used to denote the formation or pattern of such areas.

Originally referring to a 'small open area' (the sense of 'areola'), the term broadened in scientific usage to denote both the pattern of small areas on a surface and the process by which those areas are formed; the core idea of 'small area(s)' remains central.