'hyperneuronal' originates from Greek elements: the prefix 'hyper-' (Greek 'hyper') meaning 'over' or 'beyond', combined with 'neuron' (from Greek 'neûron') meaning 'nerve', plus the English adjectival suffix '-al' (from Latin '-alis').

'hyperneuronal' is a modern scientific formation created in English by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'hyper-' with 'neuronal' (itself from 'neuron', which entered scientific English in the late 19th century via Neo-Latin/German from Greek 'neûron').

Initially the elements meant 'over' (hyper-) and 'nerve' (neuron); over time the coined adjective came to be used specifically in neuroscience to describe 'excessive or unusually high neuronal activity' rather than a more general 'over-nerve' sense.