'monosporangiate' originates from New Latin, formed by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'mono-' (from Greek 'monos', meaning 'single') with 'sporangiate' (from New Latin 'sporangium'/'sporangion', meaning 'spore vessel').

'sporangion' (Greek) gave New Latin 'sporangium' and adjective 'sporangiate'; the combining prefix 'mono-' (Greek 'monos') was added in modern botanical coinage to form 'monosporangiate'.

Initially coined to mean 'bearing a single sporangium' in botanical descriptions, the term has retained that specific sense in modern usage.