'eccrine' originates from New Latin/Modern Latin and ultimately from Ancient Greek, specifically the Greek verb 'ekkrínein' (ἐκκρίνειν), where the prefix 'ek-' meant 'out' and 'krínein' meant 'to separate, to sift, to secrete'.

'eccrine' was formed via New Latin 'eccrinus' (medical/biological usage) and entered English medical terminology in the 19th–20th century to denote glands that secrete outwardly; the modern English adjective 'eccrine' derives from these classical-medical formations.

Initially it meant 'secreting out' (the general action of secretion); over time it came to be used specifically for the class of sweat glands (eccrine glands) that secrete watery sweat directly onto the skin surface.