'hypersexual' originates from Greek and Latin, specifically the Greek prefix 'hyper-' and the Latin word 'sexualis', where 'hyper-' meant 'over, excessive' and Latin 'sexus' meant 'sex'.

'hypersexual' developed as a compound of Greek 'hyper-' + Latin-derived 'sexualis' (used in Modern/Medical Latin), and entered English in the 20th century as a medical/psychological term (leading to related noun 'hypersexuality').

Initially the components meant 'excessive' (hyper-) and 'sex' (sexus); over time the compound came to denote 'excessive sexual desire or behavior' and later was adopted in clinical contexts to describe the condition 'hypersexuality'.