'axodendrite' originates from Greek-derived components: 'axon' (Greek 'axōn') and 'dendrite' from Greek 'dendron', where 'axōn' meant 'axis, axle' and 'dendron' meant 'tree'.

'axon' entered scientific English in the 19th century via New Latin from Greek 'axōn'; 'dendrite' was coined in the late 19th century from Greek 'dendron' to describe tree-like neuronal processes. The compound 'axodendrite' arose in neuroanatomical terminology to denote axon-to-dendrite contacts.

Initially the roots meant 'axis' and 'tree'; over time the compound evolved to mean specifically 'a synaptic contact from an axon onto a dendrite'.