'lophotrichous' originates from Modern scientific formation ultimately from Greek, specifically the Greek elements 'loph-' (from 'lophos') and 'trich-' (from 'thrix, trichos'), where 'loph-' meant 'crest/tuft' and 'trich-' meant 'hair'.

'lophotrichous' derives from Greek 'lophotrichos' (formed from 'lophos' + 'trichos'), was adopted into New/Modern Latin scientific usage (as forms like 'lophotrichus'/'lophotrichous'), and entered English scientific terminology in the 19th–20th century.

Initially built from roots meaning 'crest/tuft of hair', it came to be used specifically in biological contexts to mean 'having a tuft of flagella or cilia at one pole of a cell'.