'microscopy' originates from Greek elements, specifically 'mikros' and 'skopein', where 'mikros' meant 'small' and 'skopein' meant 'to look' or 'to examine'.

'microscopy' developed via New Latin/Modern French forms (e.g. French 'microscopie') from the Greek elements through Late Latin/Neo-Latin and entered English as 'microscopy' (formed from 'microscope' + '-y').

Initially it referred mainly to the act of looking with a microscope; over time it has come to denote both the practice/technique and the scientific field surrounding the use of microscopes.