'image-averse' is a compound formed from 'image' and 'averse'. 'image' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'imago' meaning 'likeness, picture', which passed into Old French as 'image' and then into Middle English. 'averse' originates from Latin, specifically the past participle 'aversus' of 'avertere' (from 'ab-' + 'vertere'), meaning 'turned away'.

'image' entered English via Old French 'image' from Latin 'imago' in Middle English; 'averse' entered English via Latin 'aversus' (and Old French influence) in early modern English. The compound 'image-averse' is a more recent modern English formation (20th–21st century) combining the two elements to describe an attitude toward visual material.

Initially, 'image' meant a 'likeness or picture' and 'averse' meant 'turned away'. Combined, the phrase originally conveyed the literal sense 'turned away from pictures' and has retained that core meaning, now applied broadly to attitudes or policies that avoid or distrust visual/imagistic content.