'epidotic' originates from 'epidote', which comes from French 'épidote', itself from Greek 'epidosis', where 'epi-' meant 'upon' and 'didonai' meant 'to give'.

'epidote' was adopted into English from French in the late 18th century, and 'epidotic' was formed as an adjective to describe things relating to or containing epidote.

Initially, 'epidotic' simply described anything pertaining to epidote, and this meaning has remained consistent.