'arteriopressor' originates from modern medical coinage, combining the prefix 'arterio-' (from Latin 'arteria', ultimately from Greek 'arteria') meaning 'artery' and 'pressor' (from Latin 'pressor', from 'premere') meaning 'one that presses'.

'arteriopressor' was formed in modern English by compounding classical medical combining forms rather than evolving from a distinct medieval English word; it follows the 19th–20th century pattern of coining descriptive medical terms from Latin/Greek roots.

Initially the components literally denoted 'artery' and 'one that presses'; the compounded term came to be used specifically for 'a drug that increases arterial pressure' in clinical/medical contexts.