'homocarpous' originates from New Latin, ultimately from Greek: the combining form 'homo-' from Greek 'homos' and '-carpous' from Greek 'karpos', where 'homos' meant 'same' and 'karpos' meant 'fruit'.

'homocarpous' was formed in New/Modern Latin from the Greek roots 'homos' + 'karpos' and entered English as a technical botanical adjective in scientific usage in the 19th century.

Initially, it meant 'having the same kind or form of fruit' in botanical descriptions; this specific technical meaning has been retained in modern usage.