'procoagulant' originates from Latin elements: the prefix 'pro-' from Latin 'prō' meaning 'for' or 'forward', combined with 'coagulant' from Latin 'coagulans', the present participle of 'coagulare', where 'co-' meant 'together' and the root from 'agere' meant 'to drive/bring together'.

'coagulant' derived from Latin 'coagulans' and medical/Neo-Latin usage 'coagulant'; the modern English formation 'procoagulant' was created by adding the prefix 'pro-' to this medical term to denote promotion of coagulation.

Initially the elements together conveyed the idea of causing or producing coagulation ('bringing together' to form a clot); over time the combined form 'procoagulant' has been used in modern medical English to mean 'promoting or causing clotting', a meaning that has been largely retained.