'cell-hypertrophic' originates from a combination of English 'cell' and 'hypertrophic'. 'cell' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'cella', where 'cella' meant 'storeroom' or 'small chamber'. 'hypertrophic' originates from Greek elements 'hyper-' and 'trophē', where 'hyper-' meant 'over' and 'trophē' meant 'nourishment' or 'growth'.

'hypertrophic' developed from the noun 'hypertrophy' (coined in modern medical usage in the 19th century from Greek roots) to the adjective 'hypertrophic'. The compound 'cell-hypertrophic' is a modern descriptive formation combining 'cell' + 'hypertrophic' used in biomedical English.

Initially the Greek root 'trophē' related to 'nourishment' and 'hyper-' to 'over' (i.e., 'over-nourishment'); over time the combined medical sense evolved into 'excessive growth or enlargement', which is the current sense used in 'cell-hypertrophic' as 'characterized by enlarged cells'.