'isotropical' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'isos' and 'tropos', where 'isos' meant 'equal' and 'tropos' meant 'turn' or 'direction'; the English adjectival suffix '-ical' (from Latin/Greek via Old French) was added to form the modern adjective.

'isotropical' developed from the adjective 'isotropic' (from New Latin/Modern Greek formation based on Greek 'isotropia'), with the additional suffix '-al'/'-ical' to form 'isotropical'; 'isotropic' itself comes from Greek components 'isos' + 'tropos' and entered scientific English via New Latin.

Initially formed to denote the property of 'equal in all directions' (from the Greek roots), this core meaning has been preserved in modern scientific usage as 'having or relating to isotropy'.