'epanalepsis' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'ἐπανάληψις' (epanálepsis), where 'epana-' meant 'again' and 'lêpsis' meant 'a taking' or 'seizure'.

'epanalepsis' changed from the Greek word 'ἐπανάληψις' into Late Latin/Medieval Latin as 'epanalepsis' and was later borrowed into English with the same form 'epanalepsis'.

Initially, it meant 'a taking up again' or 'repetition' in a general sense, but over time it came to be used specifically for the rhetorical repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and end of a clause or sentence.