'enchondroma' originates from New Latin/Greek, specifically the Greek elements 'en-' + 'chondros' + '-oma', where 'en-' meant 'in', 'chondros' meant 'cartilage', and '-oma' meant 'tumor'.

'enchondroma' developed from Greek 'énchondros' (ἐνχόνδρος, literally 'in cartilage') into New Latin medical usage as 'enchondroma', and was adopted into modern English medical terminology in the 19th century.

Initially it referred broadly to cartilage located within bone ('in cartilage' or 'in the cartilage of bone'), but over time it has come to denote specifically a benign cartilage-forming tumor arising in the medullary cavity of bone.