'bracteole' originates from Medieval Latin, specifically the word 'bracteola', where the diminutive suffix '-ola' meant 'little' (so 'bracteola' meant 'little bract').

'bracteole' came into botanical English from Medieval/Scientific Latin 'bracteola', which itself derived from Latin 'bractea' (originally meaning a thin plate or metal leaf) and was adapted in botanical usage to denote a small bract; the Modern English form 'bracteole' reflects this botanical Latin borrowing.

Initially related to Latin 'bractea' (a thin metal plate or leaf-like plate), the term evolved in botanical contexts to mean specifically 'a small bract' or 'little leaflike structure' beside a flower.