'olecranal' originates from New Latin/Modern medical formation, specifically from the noun 'olecranon' (from Greek), with the adjectival suffix '-al' added to form 'relating to' the olecranon.

'olecranal' was formed in medical/Latinized usage by adding the Latin-derived suffix '-al' to 'olecranon' (itself from Greek 'olḗkranon'), producing the English adjective 'olecranal'.

Initially the root referred to the anatomical feature 'olecranon' (the elbow prominence); over time the derived adjective came to mean 'relating to that feature' rather than the feature itself.