'hypertropia' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'hyper-' and 'tropos', where 'hyper-' meant 'over, above' and 'tropos' meant 'a turning' (or 'turn').

'hypertropia' was formed in modern medical/Neo-Latin usage from the Greek elements 'hyper-' + 'tropos' with the noun-forming suffix '-ia', and this compound entered English medical vocabulary as 'hypertropia'.

Initially it denoted 'an excessive or above turning', and over time it has retained this specific meaning in ophthalmology as 'the upward turning or deviation of an eye'.