'pre-implantation' originates from the Latin prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae') meaning 'before', combined with 'implantation', ultimately from Latin 'implantare', where 'in-' meant 'in' and 'plantare' meant 'to plant'.

'implantation' changed from Late Latin 'implantare' and Old French/Medieval forms such as 'implanter', entered Middle English as 'implant', and eventually became the modern English word 'implantation'. The compound 'pre-implantation' was formed in modern scientific English by adding the prefix 'pre-'.

Initially, 'implantation' meant 'to plant into' or 'to fix in place'; over time, especially in biology, it evolved to mean 'the embedding of an embryo in the uterine wall'. Accordingly, 'pre-implantation' came to mean 'before this embedding'.