'offset-litho' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'offset' and 'litho' (short for 'lithography'). 'offset' results from 'off-' + 'set', meaning 'to set off' or 'counterbalance', and 'litho' ultimately derives from Greek 'lithos' meaning 'stone'.

'lithography' was coined in the early 19th century (German/Greek roots: Greek 'lithos' = 'stone' + '-graphy' = 'writing'). 'litho' became a clipped form in English. The printing technique called 'offset printing' developed in the late 19th to early 20th century when images were transferred from plate to a rubber blanket before the press; this led to the term 'offset lithography' and the colloquial clipped form 'offset-litho'.

Originally, 'lithography' literally meant 'writing on stone'. Over time, with industrial printing advances, the term shifted to denote processes that reproduce images from plates or stones, and 'offset-litho' now specifically refers to the plate-to-blanket-to-paper transfer method.