'postvocalicity' is formed from Latin elements: 'post-' (Latin 'post', meaning 'after'), 'vocalis' (Latin, meaning 'vocal' or 'relating to the voice'), and the nominal suffix '-ity' (from Latin '-itas').

'postvocalicity' results from combining the Latin prefix 'post-' + Latin 'vocalis' + the abstract noun-forming suffix '-ity' (via Late Latin/Medieval formation patterns) into a single technical English term used in modern linguistics.

Originally the components convey 'after the voice' or 'after the vocal element'; in modern linguistic usage the term has come to mean specifically 'occurrence or position after a vowel' (i.e., following a vowel in the phonological/phonetic environment).