'hypertrophic' originates from New Latin/modern medical formation from the noun 'hypertrophy' + the adjectival suffix '-ic'; 'hypertrophy' itself comes from Greek elements 'hyper-' and 'trophe', where 'hyper-' meant 'over' and 'trophe' meant 'nourishment'.

'hypertrophy' comes from Greek 'hypertrophia' (ὑπερτροφία) via Late Latin/Modern Latin into English as 'hypertrophy'; the adjective 'hypertrophic' was formed in English from that noun by adding '-ic'.

Initially related to the idea of 'excessive nourishment' (overfeeding/growth), and over time the meaning evolved to the modern medical sense of 'abnormal enlargement of an organ or tissue'.