'neurilemma' originates from New Latin/modern scientific coinage, ultimately from Greek: 'neuron' meaning 'nerve' and 'lemma' meaning 'husk' or 'sheath'.

'neurilemma' was formed in Neo-Latin/scientific vocabulary from Greek elements 'neuron' + 'lemma' and was adopted into English medical terminology in the 19th century with little change in form (e.g., German 'Neurilemm' / 'Neurilemma' appeared in anatomical literature).

Initially it referred specifically to the sheath or 'husk' surrounding nerve fibers; over time the term has retained this anatomical sense and is now used specifically for the outer layer of Schwann cells around peripheral nerve axons.