'indentation' originates from Latin, specifically the root 'dent-' (from Latin 'dens') where 'dent-' meant 'tooth' (used for notches and tooth-like cuts).

'indentation' developed via Old French 'endenter' (to tooth or notch) and Middle English forms such as 'indenten', and eventually became the modern English word 'indentation'.

Initially, it meant 'to make a tooth-like notch' or 'a toothed edge', but over time it evolved into the current meanings of 'a notch or hollow' and the typographical sense 'a space at the start of a line'.