'prodromal' originates from Late Latin/Modern Latin, specifically from the Late Latin word 'prodromus' or Medieval Latin 'prodromalis', which in turn comes from the Greek word 'prodromos', where the prefix 'pro-' meant 'before' and 'dromos' meant 'running' or 'course'.

'prodromal' changed from the Greek word 'prodromos' to the Late Latin/Medieval Latin 'prodromus/prodromalis' and eventually entered English as 'prodrome' (noun) and then as the adjective 'prodromal'.

Initially it meant 'forerunner' or 'one who runs before', and over time it evolved into the medical sense 'an early sign or symptom that precedes the onset of a disease'.