'precosmic' originates from Latin and Greek, specifically the prefix 'pre-' from Latin 'prae' meaning 'before' and the element 'cosmic' from Greek 'kosmos' (via Latin/Old French) meaning 'order, world'.

'precosmic' developed as a compound of the Latin prefix 'pre-' and the English adjective 'cosmic'; 'cosmic' itself entered English via Latin (cosmicus) from Greek 'kosmikos' and became established in Middle/Modern English before being combined with 'pre-'.

Initially the roots meant 'before' (pre-) and 'order, world' (kosmos); combined as 'precosmic' the sense became specifically 'before the cosmos' and is now used especially of states or conditions thought to exist prior to the formation of the universe (e.g., pre–Big Bang contexts).