'physico-geographical' originates from compounding the prefix 'physico-' and the adjective 'geographical'; 'physico-' is derived from Greek 'physis' (via Latin 'physicus') and 'geographical' from Greek 'geographia' (via Latin and French), where 'physis' meant 'nature' and 'geographia' meant 'earth description'.

'physico-' developed as a scientific/technical combining form in modern European languages from Greek 'physis' and Latin 'physicus', while 'geographical' comes from medieval Latin and Old French forms of Greek 'geographia'; these elements were combined in modern English to form 'physico-geographical'.

Initially the roots referred separately to 'nature' and 'earth description', but over time the compound came to mean specifically 'relating to the physical aspects of geography' in scientific usage.