'epistemological' originates from Modern Latin 'epistemologia', ultimately from Greek 'epistēmē', where 'epistēmē' meant 'knowledge' and 'logia' (from 'logos') meant 'study' or 'discourse'.

'epistemological' changed from the Late Latin/Modern Latin term 'epistemologia' and the English noun 'epistemology' and eventually became the modern English adjective 'epistemological' by adding the adjectival suffix '-ical'.

Initially it referred to the study of knowledge ('study of knowledge'), but over time it came to be used more broadly to describe issues about the nature, scope, justification, and limits of knowledge ('relating to knowledge and its justification').