'holocrine' originates from New Latin/modern medical formation, ultimately from Greek: 'holos' meaning 'whole' and 'krinein' meaning 'to separate' or 'to secrete'.

'holocrine' was formed in modern scientific/medical Latin/English from Greek elements 'holos' + 'krinein' and entered English usage in descriptions of glandular secretion; it derives from earlier scholarly coinages rather than a single older English precursor.

Initially built as a technical term meaning 'whole secretion' (i.e., secretion involving the whole cell), it has retained and specialized to the current meaning 'relating to secretion by complete cellular disintegration.'