'gynesexuality' originates from a modern English compound: the Greek-derived prefix 'gyn-' (from Greek 'gynē' meaning 'woman') combined with the English word 'sexuality' (from Latin 'sexus' meaning 'sex').

'gyn-' traces to Greek 'gynē'; 'sexuality' comes into English via Latin 'sexus' and French forms, and the two elements were combined in modern English coinage to form 'gynesexuality' as a term for orientation.

Initially formed as a descriptive compound denoting attraction to women, the term has come to be used more specifically in recent discourse to indicate attraction to women or femininity irrespective of the attracted person's gender identity.