'orogen' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'oros', where 'oros' meant 'mountain', combined with a form of 'gen-' (from Greek 'genēs'/'gennan') meaning 'born' or 'to produce'.

'orogen' developed in scientific usage via New Latin/Neo-Latin formations (e.g. 'orogenes'/'orogeny') in the 19th century and was adopted into English geological terminology as 'orogen' to denote a mountain-building belt.

Initially formed from elements meaning 'mountain-born' or 'mountain-producing'; over time it became a technical term referring specifically to a mountain belt or the tectonic unit produced by orogeny.