'auscultoscope' originates from modern medical coinage combining Latin 'auscultare' (to listen) and Greek 'skopein' (to look or examine), formed using the suffix '-scope' for instruments.

'auscultoscope' was coined in the 19th century in parallel with terms like 'stethoscope' (from Greek 'stethos' meaning 'chest' + 'skopein'), used to name devices for auscultation; over time 'stethoscope' and related terms became more common in general usage.

Initially, it meant 'an instrument for listening to internal bodily sounds'; this core meaning has largely remained, though the term is now less common or somewhat archaic in everyday medical language.