'hypoxaemic' originates from Greek combining forms: Greek 'hypo-' meaning 'under, beneath' + elements related to 'oxygen' (from Greek 'oxys') and the combining form '-aemia' from Greek 'haima' meaning 'blood'.

'hypoxaemia' was coined in 19th-century medical English from Greek elements 'hypo-' + 'ox(aemia)' to denote low blood oxygen; the adjective was later formed with the suffix '-ic' to yield the modern British form 'hypoxaemic' (and the US spelling variant 'hypoxemic').

Initially it denoted 'low oxygen in the blood' and this medical meaning has remained essentially the same in modern usage.