'austrophil' originates from a combination of the prefix 'Austro-' (referring to 'Austria', ultimately from German/Latin) and the Greek-derived suffix '-phil' from 'philos' meaning 'loving'; thus the formation is from Modern English coinage patterns combining national names with '-phil' to mean 'lover of'.

'austrophil' follows the pattern of 19th–20th century formations such as 'Francophile' and 'Anglophile', where a country-name element (Austro-/Austria) plus '-phil(e)' produced nouns describing admirers or devotees; the modern English form developed by analogy with these earlier coinages.

Initially and consistently it has meant 'a lover or admirer of Austria'; the meaning has remained stable as a descriptive label for pro‑Austria sentiment or preference.