'periorbital' originates from the Greek prefix 'peri-' and Latin 'orbitalis', specifically from Latin 'orbita', where 'peri-' meant 'around' and 'orbita' meant 'track' or 'circle (orbit).

'periorbital' formed as a Neo-Latin/medical compound combining Greek 'peri-' + Latin 'orbitalis' (from Latin 'orbita') and entered English as the modern medical adjective 'periorbital'.

Initially, the components literally meant 'around' + 'track/circle'; over time the compound's meaning specialized to 'around the eye socket' in medical usage.