'dendrophobia' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the words 'dendron' and 'phobos', where 'dendron' meant 'tree' and 'phobos' meant 'fear'.

'dendrophobia' was formed in modern English by combining the Greek combining form 'dendro-' (from 'dendron') with the suffix '-phobia' (from 'phobos'), producing a term meaning 'fear of trees'.

Initially, it meant 'fear of trees', and this basic meaning has been retained into modern usage.