'bifurcation' originates from Latin, specifically the Medieval Latin word 'bifurcatio' (from the verb 'bifurcare'), where the prefix 'bi-' meant 'two' and 'furca' meant 'fork' or 'pitchfork'.

'bifurcation' passed into English from Medieval Latin 'bifurcatio' (and the verb 'bifurcare'). The Latin elements 'bi-' + 'furca' gave rise to forms in Late Latin and then to the English 'bifurcation' by direct borrowing and adaptation.

Initially it meant 'the act of dividing into two forks' or 'a two-pronged fork'; over time the core idea of 'splitting into two' has been retained while the term broadened to technical uses in anatomy, engineering, and mathematics.