'countrywoman' is a compound of 'country' + 'woman'. 'Country' entered English from Old French/Anglo-Norman 'contrée' (from Vulgar Latin *contrata (terra)), originally referring to a region or land; 'woman' comes from Old English 'wīfmann' (wīf 'woman, female' + mann 'person').

'country' developed from Old French 'contrée' into Middle English forms like 'contre' and later 'country'; 'woman' evolved from Old English 'wīfmann' through Middle English variants such as 'wimman' to modern 'woman'. The compound 'countrywoman' was formed in post-medieval/modern English by combining these two elements to denote a female from the country.

Initially the elements referred simply to 'region/land' and 'female person'; combined, the term has long meant 'a woman from the countryside' and has retained that core sense, with a secondary literary/formal sense of 'a woman of the same country' (fellow female national).