'periselene' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'peri-' and 'Selēnē', where 'peri-' meant 'around' and 'Selēnē' meant 'moon'.

'periselene' was coined in modern scientific English (via Neo-Latin formation) by combining the Greek elements 'peri-' + 'Selēnē' and was adopted by analogy with terms such as 'perihelion' and 'perigee'.

Initially it denoted the point in an orbit nearest the Moon, and this specific astronomical meaning has been retained in modern usage.