'ptyalogogue' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'ptyalon', where 'ptyal-' meant 'saliva' and the suffix '-agogue' (from Greek 'agein') meant 'to lead' or 'to bring about'.

'ptyalon' (Greek) was used in Neo-Latin and learned medical formations (e.g. 'ptyal- + -agogus'), and the English learned borrowing 'ptyalogogue' arose in medical/technical usage in the 18th–19th centuries as a term for substances that induce salivation.

Initially it denoted 'something that causes salivation', and this technical meaning has been retained, though the term is now rare/archaaic in general usage.