'inotrope' originates from Modern Latin/Neo-Latin formation combining the Greek element 'ino-' (from Greek 'īnós' meaning 'muscle; fibre') and the combining form '-trope' (from Greek 'tropos' meaning 'turn, change' used in English to indicate 'affecting or turning').

'inotrope' was formed in 20th-century medical/physiological English from Greek-derived combining elements (e.g., 'ino-' + '-trope') to name agents that alter muscle (especially heart) contractility; it entered technical usage in cardiology and pharmacology in the 1900s.

Initially formed to denote an agent that 'modifies muscle (cardiac) action', the term has kept that specialized meaning and is now used specifically for drugs or agents that change cardiac contractile force (positive or negative).