'pre-insurrectional' is a modern English formation combining the prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prius', meaning 'before') with 'insurrectional', which is derived from 'insurrection' (from Latin 'insurrectio').

'insurrectional' developed from Latin 'insurrectio/insurgere' (to rise up), passed into Old French and Middle English as 'insurrection', and later took the adjectival English form 'insurrectional'; 'pre-' was then prefixed in modern English to indicate 'before'.

Initially related directly to the act of rising up ('insurrection'), the compounded form 'pre-insurrectional' came to mean 'occurring before or foreshadowing an insurrection'.