'pre-catechumenal' is formed from the prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'præ', meaning 'before') combined with 'catechumenal' (relating to 'catechumen'). 'catechumen' ultimately comes from Greek.

'catechumen' originates from Greek 'κατηχούμενος' (katēchoumenos, 'one being instructed') via Late Latin 'catechumenus' and Middle English 'catechumen'; 'catechumenal' developed as an adjective in English, and the combining prefix 'pre-' was later attached to form 'pre-catechumenal'.

Initially, elements referred specifically to 'instruction' or 'one being instructed' in the Greek church context; over time the compound 'pre-catechumenal' has come to mean 'before the catechumenate' with the same ecclesiastical sense.