'emboss' originates from French, specifically the word 'embosser', where the prefix 'em-' meant 'in/on' and 'bosse' meant 'hump' or 'protuberance'. 'embossment' is formed in English from this base.

'emboss' changed from Old French 'embosser' (or Middle French) into Middle English forms such as 'embossen' and eventually became the modern English word 'emboss'; 'embossment' developed as a noun form meaning the result or act of embossing.

Initially it referred to making a hump or protuberance; over time it narrowed to the decorative sense of producing raised patterns or designs, which is the modern meaning.