'gynoeciousness' originates from Greek elements 'gynē' and 'oikos', where 'gynē' meant 'woman, female' and 'oikos' meant 'house'.

'gynoeciousness' was formed from the adjective 'gynoecious' (from Late Latin/Greek compound) by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness', resulting in the modern English noun 'gynoeciousness'.

Initially, the component roots referred to 'female' and 'house' (used in botanical compounds to indicate the 'house' or location of reproductive organs); over time the compound came to mean 'bearing only female flowers', and this botanical meaning has been retained in modern usage.