'high-resolution' originates from English, specifically the words 'high' and 'resolution', where 'high' originally meant 'of great extent or height' and 'resolution' originates from Latin 'resolutio', derived from 'resolvere' where 're-' meant 'again' and 'solvere' meant 'to loosen or release'.

'resolution' changed from Latin 'resolutio' into Old French 'resolution' and Middle English 'resolucioun', and in Modern English the adjective 'high' was later combined with 'resolution' to form the compound 'high-resolution'.

Initially, 'resolution' meant 'the action of resolving or the process of breaking down', but over time it came to denote 'the degree of detail or fineness (especially in images or measurements)', and 'high-resolution' evolved to mean 'having a high degree of detail'.