'orogenic' originates from New Latin (scientific formation) and ultimately from Greek elements: 'oros' meaning 'mountain' and a form related to 'genesis'/'genēs' meaning 'birth' or 'origin'; the combining form '-genic' means 'producing' or 'originating'.

'orogenic' developed through scientific New Latin/French formations (e.g. New Latin 'orogenicus' / French 'orogénique') derived from Greek 'oros' + 'genesis', and was adopted into English in the context of geology and tectonics in the 19th–20th centuries.

Initially it meant 'relating to the origin or formation of mountains'; over time the term has remained focused on mountain‑building but broadened to describe both processes and the resulting structures (e.g. orogenic belts, orogenic events).