'pre-prostatic' originates from Latin and Greek elements: the Latin prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae') meaning 'before', combined with 'prostatic', ultimately from Greek 'prostátēs' used for 'prostate'.

'prostate' comes from Greek 'prostátēs', passed into Latin as 'prostata' and into English as 'prostate'; 'prostatic' was formed as the adjectival derivative, and modern medical English formed 'pre-prostatic' by adding the prefix 'pre-'.

Initially, the Greek root 'prostátēs' meant 'one who stands before'; over time the term came to denote the gland now called the 'prostate', and 'pre-prostatic' developed to mean 'located before (anterior to) the prostate'.