'odd-page-only' originates from the English words 'odd', 'page', and 'only'. 'odd' originates from Old Norse, specifically the word 'oddi' where the root meant 'point' or (by extension) 'single/uneven'; 'page' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'pagina' (via Old French 'page'); 'only' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'ān'/'ānlic' where the root meant 'one' or 'single'.

'odd' changed from Old Norse 'oddi' to Middle English forms like 'odde' and eventually became the modern English 'odd'; 'page' evolved from Latin 'pagina' through Old French 'page' into Middle English 'page'; 'only' evolved from Old English 'ānlic/onlic' into Middle English and then modern 'only'. The compound phrase 'odd-page-only' is a more recent modern English compound formed in printing/layout contexts to indicate application on odd-numbered pages only.

Initially the component words meant 'single/uneven' ('odd'), 'leaf/sheet' ('page'), and 'one/sole' ('only'); over time these elements combined in modern usage to produce the compound meaning 'applying only to odd-numbered pages'.