'parallel-fibered' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'parallel' and 'fiber' with the adjectival suffix '-ed'. 'parallel' comes via Late Latin/French from Greek 'parallēlos' meaning 'beside one another', and 'fiber' derives from Latin 'fibra' (via Old French 'fibre') meaning 'a filament or strand'.

'parallel' came from Greek 'parallēlos' through Late Latin and Old French into Middle English, while 'fiber' came from Latin 'fibra' via Old French 'fibre' into Middle English; the compound 'parallel-fibered' arose in modern technical English (19th–20th century) to describe materials whose fibers run side by side.

Initially the components referred separately to 'side-by-side' and 'strand'; over time the compound came to specifically describe materials whose internal strands or fibers are aligned side-by-side, a technical descriptive term.