'gymnosperm' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'gymnos' meaning 'naked' and 'sperma' meaning 'seed'.

'gymnosperm' entered scientific usage via New Latin (e.g. 'Gymnospermae') and was adopted into modern English botanical vocabulary from Late 18th–19th century taxonomic literature.

Initially it literally meant 'naked seed'; this core idea has remained, denoting plants with unenclosed seeds, though its use became technical in botanical classification.