'eco-aesthetic' is a compound formed from the combining form 'eco-' (from Greek 'oikos', meaning 'house' or 'environment') and 'aesthetic' (from Greek 'aisthētikos', meaning 'perceptible, sensitive to sensation').

'aesthetic' entered English via Modern Latin and French from Greek 'aisthētikos' (through 18th-century philosophical usage), and 'eco-' arose as a productive combining form in English in the 20th century through words like 'ecology' (from Greek 'oikos' + 'logos'). The compound 'eco-aesthetic' is a modern English formation of 20th–21st century usage.

Initially, 'aesthetic' referred to sensation or perception and later came to mean the philosophical study of beauty; combined with 'eco-' it evolved into a term denoting aesthetic concerns specifically tied to environmental and ecological values.