'perioral-ciliated' originates from a modern compound of two elements: 'perioral' and 'ciliated'. 'Perioral' is formed from Greek 'peri-' and Latin 'oralis' (see below), where 'peri-' meant 'around' and 'oralis' meant 'of the mouth'. 'Ciliated' derives from Latin 'cilium', where 'cilium' meant 'eyelash' and by extension 'a small hair or hair-like projection'.

'perioral' is a modern medical formation combining Greek 'peri-' ('around') with Latin-derived 'oral'/'oralis' ('of the mouth'); 'cilium' (Latin) gave rise to Medieval/Neo-Latin 'ciliatus' and then English 'ciliate'/'ciliated' via scientific Latin and Modern English usage. Together they formed the compound adjective 'perioral-ciliated' in technical/biological contexts.

Initially the component roots meant 'around' (peri-), 'of the mouth' (oral), and 'eyelash/small hair' (cilium); over time these merged in scientific English to mean 'having small hair-like projections (cilia) arranged around the mouth', the current specialized meaning.