'axiological' originates from Greek via the noun 'axiology', specifically from the Greek root 'axios' where 'axios' meant 'worthy' and 'logos' meant 'study' or 'discourse'.

'axiological' changed from the modern noun 'axiology' (English, from French/German 'axiologie'/'Axiologie' coined in the late 19th–early 20th century) and eventually became the English adjective 'axiological' by adding the adjectival suffix '-ical'.

Initially the roots indicated 'study of what is worthy' (the analysis of value); over time the term came to mean 'relating to the study or theory of values' and is used adjectivally to describe value-related matters.