'post-Carboniferous' originates from Latin and Modern Latin, specifically the prefix 'post-' (from Latin) meaning 'after', and 'Carboniferous' from Modern Latin 'Carboniferous', ultimately from Latin 'carbo' meaning 'coal' and the suffix '-ferous' meaning 'bearing'.

'post-Carboniferous' formed by attaching the Latin prefix 'post-' to the geological period name 'Carboniferous' (a term coined in the 19th century from Modern Latin), and it entered geological usage as the compound adjective 'post-Carboniferous'.

Initially it meant 'after the Carboniferous period' and over time it has retained that specialized geological meaning of 'belonging to the time after the Carboniferous'.