'hemangioid' originates from New Latin (from Greek), specifically the Greek elements 'haima' and 'angeion', where 'haima' meant 'blood' and 'angeion' meant 'vessel', and the suffix '-oid' came from Greek 'oeidēs' meaning 'resembling'.

'hemangioid' developed via medical New Latin formations related to 'haemangioma' / 'hemangioma' (a compound of Greek 'haima' + 'angeion' forming 'haemangioma'), with the adjectival suffix '-oid' attached to indicate likeness, producing the modern English 'hemangioid'.

Initially the roots referred specifically to 'blood' and 'vessel'; over time the combined term shifted to the adjectival sense 'resembling a hemangioma' or 'having vascular characteristics'.