'delictual' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'delictum', where 'delictum' meant 'offence' or 'wrong'.

'delictum' passed into Old French as 'delit'/'délit', then into Middle English as 'delit'/'delict', and the English adjective 'delictual' was later formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ual' to the noun 'delict'.

Initially, 'delictum' referred to an 'offence' or 'transgression'; over time the English adjective 'delictual' came to mean specifically 'relating to a civil wrong or tort' (often in legal usage).