'deplate' originates from Latin-derived prefix 'de-' and the English noun 'plate'. The prefix 'de-' (from Latin 'de-') meant 'off, away, down, remove', and 'plate' comes from Old French 'plate' meaning 'flat metal slab'.

'plate' comes from Old French 'plate', from Late Latin 'platta' meaning 'flat plate', and the productive English prefix 'de-' has been used with verbs to indicate removal or reversal, forming 'deplate' in technical usage.

Initially the elements conveyed 'remove a plate or covering'; over time the compound came to be used specifically for removing metal plating or detaching a plate-like component.