'perigee' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'peri-' and 'gē', where 'peri-' meant 'around' and 'gē' meant 'earth'.

'perigee' changed from Greek 'perigeion' into Late Latin/Medieval Latin forms (e.g. 'perigaeum'), passed into French (e.g. 'périgée') and eventually became the modern English word 'perigee'.

Initially it meant 'around the Earth' or the notion of nearness to Earth in orbital terms; over time it came to denote specifically 'the closest orbital point to Earth'.