'histoid' originates from Greek combining elements: 'hist-' from 'histos' and the suffix '-oid' (from Greek 'oeides'), where 'histos' meant 'tissue/web' and '-oid' meant 'resembling'.

'histoid' was formed in New Latin/medical Latin from the Greek components 'histos' + '-oid' and entered English medical usage in the late 19th to early 20th century to name tissue-like lesions and variants.

Initially it literally meant 'tissue-like' (resembling tissue); over time it has retained that core sense but became specialized in pathology and clinical medicine to label particular lesion types or variants (e.g., histoid leprosy).