'pedicel' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'pediculus', where 'ped-' (from 'pes') meant 'foot' and the diminutive suffix '-culus' meant 'little', later forming Medieval Latin 'pedicellus'.

'pedicel' changed from Medieval Latin 'pedicellus' (a diminutive meaning 'little foot' or 'little stalk') and passed into Old French/Medieval usage before becoming the modern English 'pedicel'.

Initially it meant 'little foot' (a diminutive of 'foot'), but over time it came to be used for 'a small stalk or stalk-like structure' in botanical and anatomical contexts.