'floral-ecological' originates from modern English as a compound of 'floral' and 'ecological'; 'floral' comes via Latin 'floralis' from 'flos, floris' meaning 'flower', while 'ecological' derives from 'ecology', ultimately from Greek 'oikos' (house, environment) + 'logos' (study), formed in Neo-Greek/modern scientific usage.

'floral' developed from Latin 'floralis' into Late Latin/Old French forms and entered English as 'floral'; 'ecological' was formed in the 19th century from 'ecology' (coined by 19th-century biologists such as Ernst Haeckel) and became the adjective 'ecological'; the compound 'floral-ecological' is a modern English formation combining these two adjectives to specify ecological aspects of flowers.

Initially, 'floral' simply meant 'of or relating to flowers' and 'ecological' meant 'relating to ecology'; over time the compound came to specify the intersection of those senses — the ecology of flowers and flowering plant communities — rather than separate floral or ecological topics.