'homologoumena' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'ὁμολογούμενα' (homologoumena), where the prefix 'ὁμό-' ('homo-') meant 'together/same' and the verb root 'ὁμολογέω' (homologeō) meant 'to agree, confess'.

'homologoumena' passed from Greek/Byzantine ecclesiastical usage into Medieval and Ecclesiastical Latin and later into English theological vocabulary as 'homologoumena', used particularly to denote writings acknowledged as canonical.

Initially it meant 'things confessed or agreed upon' in a general sense; over time it came to be used especially for 'books universally acknowledged as canonical' in church history, while retaining the broader sense of 'agreed matters'.