'pathomorphological' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'patho-' from 'pathos' and 'morph-' from 'morphē', where 'pathos' meant 'suffering' or 'disease' and 'morphē' meant 'form'.

'pathomorphological' was formed in Modern English by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'patho-' with 'morphological' (from Greek via Latin/Neo-Latin 'morphologia'); related Neo-Latin formations include 'pathomorphologia' and 'pathomorphologicus' which influenced the English adjective.

Initially it meant 'pertaining to the form or structural changes of disease,' and over time it has remained specialized with substantially the same meaning in medical and pathological contexts.