'hypophoric' originates from Neo-Latin 'hypophoricus', ultimately from Greek elements 'hypo-' and a form related to 'phorein', where 'hypo-' meant 'under' and 'phorein' meant 'to carry' or 'to bear'.

'hypophoric' developed via Latinized/Neo-Latin forms (e.g. 'hypophora', 'hypophoricus') from Greek 'hypo-' + a form related to 'phorein'; the English noun 'hypophora' (the rhetorical device) entered Modern English and the adjective 'hypophoric' was formed from it.

Initially derived from Greek elements with a literal sense of 'bearing under' or 'carrying beneath', the term shifted in rhetorical usage to denote the device of raising a question and immediately answering it; the modern adjective describes things relating to that device.