'pro-vivisection' originates from Modern English as a compound of the prefix 'pro-' (from Latin 'pro', meaning 'for') and the noun 'vivisection' (from Latin roots via French).

'vivisection' comes from Latin elements 'vivus' ('alive') and 'secare' ('to cut'), passed into French and then into English as 'vivisection'; the compound 'pro-vivisection' formed in modern English by adding the prefix 'pro-' to indicate support.

Initially, 'vivisection' referred specifically to the act of cutting or operating on a living animal; over time the term and the compound 'pro-vivisection' have come to denote both the practice and the political/ethical stance of supporting it.