'entomophilous' originates from Greek combining forms, specifically 'entomo-' from Greek 'éntomon' meaning 'insect' and '-philous' from Greek 'philos' meaning 'loving' or 'fond of'.

'entomophilous' was formed in New/Neo-Latin (e.g. 'entomophilus') from Greek elements and was adopted into English as 'entomophilous' with the same structure.

Initially, the components meant 'insect-loving' or 'attracted to insects'; over time the term has been used specifically in biology and botany to mean 'pollinated by insects' or 'adapted for insect pollination'.